New Start
by Kristinmw
Summary: Jess moves to Charming looking for a change. She quickly befriends Lux Morrow, daughter of Gemma and Clay, and doesn't realize how much change she's about to get. Taken over for AFspouse. JAX/OC
1. Chapter 15

**A/N - I took this story over for AFspouse. If you haven't read the first part of the story, you can do so on her page, or you can find the story on my favorites list, also titled New Start. Check out her other stories too - they're all great! **

**If you're following this story from before, welcome! I hope you like what I've done with it and I hope I can do the story justice! **

**This story is Alternate Universe, mixed with some story lines from the show, many out of order, etc. It's not cannon!**

**If it's been awhile since you read the first part of New Start, or you're not in the mood to read another 14 chapters first, here's a quick summary to remind you what happened:**

** *****(OBVIOUSLY, SPOILERS OF THE FIRST HALF OF NEW START)*****  
**

**Jess Tyler, who has been in and out of foster homes her entire life, moves to Charming from Santa Barbara after finding information on her birth mother's sister, Rose. Her mother Daisy wants nothing to do with her, but Rose is still living in Charming and welcomes Jess with open arms. Upon arrival, Jess gets a job working for Luann Delayney as a waitress at a Gentlemen's Club called Cara Cara, where she meets Lux Morrow, daughter of Gemma and Clay, as well as the rest of the Sons of Anarchy. **

**A few weeks later, she moves in with Lux, who has an apartment directly across the street from the MC. Her and Jax have a couple one night stands, each slowly falling for the other, until Jax chooses safety and familiarity over a new adventure and new possible heartbreak, and gets back together with his ex-girlfriend, Tara, mother to his son Abel. **

**Jess pretends to be fine with that, and tries to start dating other people. She even sleeps with Happy at one point, which does not sit well for Jax and he forbids her from hooking up with any other sons. He also scares off her date one night after talking Happy into beating the crap out of him in the ring, leaving Jess frustrated and angry. **

**Tara takes off with Abel, devestating Jax. Jess finds her working in Santa Barbara and talks her into letting Jess bring Abel back, so long as she doesn't tell anyone where she is. **

**Zobelle shows up out of the woodwork at Cara Cara, threatening the sons to quit their enterprises before using Jess to get away. Jess and Lux's window at their apartment get blown out with gunfire, Jess getting shot in the leg and Lux wounded by a huge piece of glass. The sons are sure Zobelle is behind it. Jess decides to give Jax another chance and they start dating. **

**The last story left off with Cara Cara getting burned down and Luann murdered inside. Lux is getting arrested for Luann's murder.**

* * *

Clay was pacing back and forth at the police station. I watched him like a tennis match, my eyes going back and forth. Finally he leaned against the counter, resting his head in his hands. I felt so helpless, sitting in a chair, leaning against Jax. I had barely had time to mourn the loss of Luann before Lux had been arrested for her murder. After raging at the cops who were arresting Lux, Gemma had raced down to the morgue to identify the body and we hadn't heard back from her yet. A small part of me was hoping against hope that the cops had gotten it wrong – that it was some stripper skank that had been wheeled off in that body bag and not Luann. I was not looking forward to Gemma's call that would confirm it.

I looked around the small room. Tig was sitting in a corner looking panicked, but behind the panic a fire burned in his eyes. I'd never seen him this angry. Opie was sitting next to him, eyebrows pulled together, clearly deep in thought. Juice, Chibs, Bobby, and Happy were back at the clubhouse, assumedly rounding up the usual suspects to help with retaliation. It was clear who had done this. We all knew it, and I knew it was killing each and every man in the room that they couldn't wring his neck for this. Not yet at least.

Because Lux getting arrested made killing Zobelle a non- option at this point. Killing Zobelle would mean killing the chance for proof that Lux didn't do it. For the first time, the club was going to have to work with the law (somewhat) to prove it before they could carry out their own outlaw version of justice. After that, Zobelle would be lucky if his death was quick.

I thought back to the army Zobelle had had at Cara Cara and looked up at Jax's face with worry. He leaned his head down, kissing the top of my head as I laid my head on his shoulder. How many of my boys were going to get hurt trying to bring Zobelle down? I thought back to Jax's words to LeRoy at Cara Cara – it was going to be bloody. I shook the thought out of my head. My first and only concern should be Lux right now.

I thought of her in the interrogation room, where she was right now. Clay had immediately called the club's attorney, a guy named Rosen, who had met us at the station and was in the room with Lux right now. I threw a quick prayer to God, Allah, Buddha, the Universe – whoever the hell could help me out at this point – that Rosen was as good as Jax had assured me he was on the way over here. I knew when murder charges were brought against someone, they didn't often make bail. Especially when any prosecutor would bring up Lux's obvious ties to SAMCRO.

I heard footsteps coming from down the hall and jumped up when Rosen came around the corner, briefcase in his hand a sobering expression on his face. He looked around at the men and then back at the cops sitting behind the counter.

"I think it'd be best if I debriefed you all at the clubhouse," he said. Clay, looking more ragged than I'd ever seen him, pulled himself together and nodded curtly. We all filed out of the police station and I took one last look at the hallway, almost hoping to see Lux walk down it, free and clear of all charges. When that didn't happen, I turned and followed Jax to his bike.

SOASOASOA

We all pulled into the Teller-Morrow parking lot several minutes later and hopped off the bikes. I saw Gemma's car in the parking lot and figured Clay must have told her to meet us here. We filed inside and saw Gemma, Juice, Happy, Bobby, and Chibs standing around waiting for us. I immediately went to the bar and started passing out beers – I knew we'd need them. I handed Gemma her beer and silently asked her the question I knew I did not want answered. Her eyes filled with sadness as she brushed my cheek with her palm.

"I'm sorry, baby," she said quietly, and pulled me in to a hug as my shoulders sank. I buried my face into her shoulder and sobbed. I felt a hand on my shoulder to see Jax standing there, ready to take over for his mother as official comforter. He led me to the couch and pulled me onto his lap, wrapping his strong arms around me as I rested my head on his shoulders. Nobody said a word as we waited.

Rosen arrived a few minutes later and we all looked up at him expectantly as he pulled a chair over to speak to us.

"The evidence they have against Lux is pretty overwhelming. They found what could be the murder weapon in her car – a bat with what appears to be Luann's blood on it, as well as this 'anonymous call' they got identifying Lux's car fleeing the scene. Now without a forthcoming witness, one with a name and face, the anonymous tip is going to get thrown out – I'll make sure of that. However, we can't discount Zobelle paying some "witness" to come out of the woodwork and testify against her. They're running tests on the bat now to see if it is Luann's blood," Rosen explained.

"It will be," Jax growled. Rosen nodded.

"Well they'll also be dusting for prints," he added, "If Lux's prints aren't found, it will be difficult for them to pin this on her."

"We can't bank on that," Clay said, suddenly all business, "Zobelle's not stupid. He could've found a way to get her prints and transfer them onto the bat." Rosen nodded.

"I thought of that," he said, suddenly turning to me, "Are you Jessica?" I nodded.

"Lux told me she was with you this morning when it happened," he said, "Is that true?" I looked to Jax, surprised. Everyone knew I had been with him the night before and all day today. If Lux was lying about her alibi, where had she really been? I looked quickly at Tig, who I assumed she'd been with, and he just shrugged. I turned back to Jax, who gave me a small nod.

"Yes, she was with me all night," I said robotically. Rosen nodded curtly.

"Would you be willing to testify to that in a court of law?" he asked. Testify? In court? Perjur myself? Taking a deep breath, knowing beyond all doubt that Lux would do the same for me, I nodded.

"Absolutely," I said, with much more bravado in my voice than I actually felt. Rosen nodded again.

"Her bail hearing has been set for tomorrow. She'll be detained until then but if all goes according to plan she'll be out on bail until trial," he said. We all breathed a sigh of relief. Until this moment, I had been worried that bail wasn't going to be an option. I needed to talk to her as soon as I could. Rosen stood and turned to me.

"I need to speak with you, Jessica," he said.

"Me?" I squeaked, surprised.

"In private," he added.

"You can use the chapel," Jax offered and I stood, following Rosen into the room. He closed the door behind me and sat down, opening his briefcase.

"Sit," he said, and seeing the frightened look on my face added, "please." I sat next to him and he pulled some files out of his briefcase.

"I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but as the club's attorney I also act as executor of most of their estates, including Otto and Luann's," he said. I nodded slowly.

"With Otto on death row, he transferred all rights to his estate and property into the sole hands of Luann," he continued, "A couple of weeks ago, Luann called me down to make changes to her will," he looked me dead in the eye, "She left you everything." I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand and willing the new tears forming in my eyes not to fall.

"It includes Cara Cara, which now that it burned down means you will inherit the insurance money that you may do with as you please, as well as her house, cars, all of her possessions, and somewhere in the ballpark of $500,000 in the form of stocks, bonds, and cash," he said. I sat, shell shocked, not sure I even knew what do with this information.

"With the insurance money added to the $500,000, you will receive somewhere in the ballpark of 5 million dollars," Rosen concluded. 5 million dollars? I couldn't even fathom that much money. I'd never had more than a couple hundred in my bank account at one time in my life. 5 million dollars could keep me set for the rest of my life.

"Of course, it's up to you if you want to rebuild Cara Cara," Rosen told me, and I looked at him, only half hearing what he was saying, "The sons of course are part owners. They'll get a share of the insurance money, but it probably won't be enough for them to rebuild on their own, and if you decide not to rebuild, you'll need to take it up with them." I nodded, my mind racing through everything he'd just told me. I'd known Luann for less than a year, and she'd left me everything. Everything. A new thought just occurred to me and I felt a shiver run through my spine.

"This will make me a suspect," I stated blandly, not needing Rosen's nod of confirmation, "And she told the police I was her alibi." I groaned. What a stupid thing to do. Not that Lux could have known I'd just inherited millions of dollars from Luann – a fine motive it would be for Lux and I to conspire murder.

"Tell me what to do," I begged, looking at this man, with his black suit and yuppie haircut, as if he were my only hope.

"Lux didn't tell the police you were her alibi," he said, "she told that to me under lawyer/client confidentiality. I'm assuming now that it's not true." I nodded slowly.

"I thought she was with Tig," I told him, "I don't know why she said she was with me."

"Probably because you're one of the few people in her life without a mug shot hanging on the wall outside," Rosen said simply, "Felons don't often make the most reliable alibis." I nodded.

"But if we all say we saw her here last night, they'd have to let her go, right?" I asked, almost pleadingly. He shrugged.

"It couldn't hurt, but I'm telling you now, a bunch of sons and family is not going to make an airtight alibi. We'll need a lot more than that to get her off," he said, "But she hasn't given an official statement yet. With the story she has right now, and you inheriting everything Luann owns, it sets both of you up. You've got motive, she's got the murder weapon. You cannot be each other's alibis." I nodded and he stood up. This meeting appeared to be over. I followed him out to where the rest of the group were huddled together, speaking in low murmurs.

"I'm going to go back to the station and talk to Lux," Rosen announced, "Find out where she really was last night."

"I'm coming with you," Clay said, immediately standing up.

"Me too," Gemma said, standing up. Clay looked at her.

"No," he said pointing at her, "Not this time. We need her to tell us the truth, she's not gonna open up if we're both there." Gemma narrowed her eyes, hands on her hips as she glared at Clay.

"If you think I'm just gonna sit here-" she started before Clay interrupted her.

"DO NOT ARGUE WITH ME RIGHT NOW!" Clay bellowed, causing Gemma to jump slightly back as she looked at him, shocked, "I'm gonna go and figure all this out. You need to start getting Luann's funeral together." Gemma pursed her lips and nodded, grabbing her purse and walking out of the door.

"Would you mind if I came?" I asked Clay, "I really need to see her." She had given me as her alibi when I definitely wasn't; I needed to know what was going on.

"Sure," he replied, "I think she might have an easier time if she has a friend in the room with her." Jax looked over at me, asking me with his eyes if I needed him to come, too. I shook my head and he turned to the rest of the group.

"Church," he called, "NOW." Rosen and Clay moved towards the exit while the rest of the group moved towards the chapel. I grabbed Tig's arm before he walked away. He turned to look at me.

"She was with you, wasn't she?" I asked, praying this answer would be the one I was looking for. Praying that Rosen was right – that she didn't give him Tig as her alibi because she thought I'd be a more reliable witness. But Tig shook his head.

"I was with her most of the night at the party, but she disappeared sometime around 2 or 3. I asked around – nobody knew where she went. I even checked the apartment and tried her cell. She came back to the clubhouse right before the cops came and arrested her. Jess- I have no idea where was last night."

My shoulders sagged as I ran to jump in Rosen's car, fighting as hard as I could against the thought creeping its way into my brain. Lux had gotten into an argument with Luann last night, and I knew she could be bat shit crazy when times called for it. But murder? I didn't want to think she could be capable of that, but if I was honest with myself, I just wasn't 100 percent sure about anything.

**A/N This is my first try at FanFiction, so please review to let me know how I'm doing! The more reviews I get, the more motivated I'll be to get more chapters uploaded quickly. I've got tons of ideas in my head, so I may have another chapter up here in the next day or so! **


	2. Chapter 16

**A/N Thanks for all the alerts and the reviews! Please continue to review! I'm really excited about where this story is headed so let me know what you think! **

We pulled into the station a few minutes later and were escorted down to Lux's cell. She was huddled in a ball on the floor in the corner, her face buried in her knees. She looked up when she saw us approach and her face was blotchy, her eyes red. She had clearly been crying. She stood quickly as the guard opened the cell and allowed us in, before closing it behind us and walking back to his station.

Lux immediately fell into Clay's arms and sobbed while he stroked her hair, telling her everything was going to be okay, and they'd figure all of this out. Lux looked to me and did her best at a smile, and I did my best to return it.

"I'm sorry, Jess," she said.

"What for?" I asked.

"When they arrested me, I panicked. The only thing I could think of to say when Rosen finally came to talk to me was that I was with you," she said.

"So where were you last night, baby girl?" Clay asked, concern etched across his face. Lux stared at him, wide eyed, and shook her head.

"Lux, you've got to tell us what happened," I urged her, looking at Rosen for some help.

"We really need to know everywhere you were," Rosen said, "Someone could have seen you, and if it gets out that we were trying to hide something, it's not going to look good. If we really do have something to hide, I can work with that. But I need to know." Lux took a deep breath and sat down on the narrow bed on the other side of the cell. She put her head in her hands and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

"I was in church," she finally admitted. We all stood, staring at her, stunned.

"Church?" I repeated. She nodded.

"I was at the party last night, and I got into it with Luann. She wouldn't give me the next day off and I had barely spent any time with Tig lately and I was drunk and angry. So I started bitching about it with this Croweater. She'd done a couple rails and offered it to me, and I was just so pissed and out of it and…" her voice trailed off and she looked miserably into her hands. I looked over at Clay and was shocked to see how angry he was, standing there, his jaw line set, hands curled into fists. I looked back at Lux trying to figure this out.

"What, coke?" I asked, and she nodded, starting to cry some more.

"Lux!" Clay yelled, punching the wall and immediately regretting his decision. He winced and rubbed his knuckles, but the anger never left his face.

"I know, daddy, I'm sorry!" she wailed, "That's why I left the party. So I went to church to think about it."

"That shit almost ruined this family," Clay growled at her, the anger in his voice almost scary. I looked back and forth between them, slightly confused. I knew drugs were bad and everything, but these were guys that killed people.

"I know, dad, I know," Lux cried, pulling her knees back to her chest and hugging them, "I swear I'm not getting back into it. I regretted it as soon as I did it."

"You know everything we went through last time, Lux," Clay continued, clearly not listening to her, his voice rising with every word he spoke, "You worked so hard to get over your addiction. You can't just throw that away. I don't think this family could survive it if you went back down that road." Lux nodded, wiping her eyes.

"I won't dad, I swear I won't," she said, her shoulders sagging even more.

"Did anybody see you at the church?" Rosen finally spoke up. Lux and Clay both turned to look at him. It was apparent that they had forgotten they weren't alone. Lux finally shook her head.

"No," she said.

"Were you driving your own car?" he asked. She shook her head again.

"I walked," she mumbled, "I needed the fresh air." Rosen nodded again, pulling out a notepad to write down a few notes.

"Good, then as far as anyone else is concerned, you never left the clubhouse – do you understand? I'll work it with everyone back there and we'll come up with a good enough story for you to make your official statement before your bail hearing tomorrow," he told her. She nodded, rubbing her eyes again and avoiding looking at me. She'd never told me she had been a drug addict. Not once.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I finally asked her, needing the question answered. She continued to avoid my gaze.

"It's not something I'm exactly proud of," she mumbled and I nodded. I guess I wouldn't want everyone to know if it was me. But I also knew that sober or drunk Lux already had a bit of a crazy tendency. What was coked out Lux like? What was coked out Lux capable of?

I couldn't answer that question, and I hated myself for doubting my friend.

SOASOASOA

Back at the clubhouse, Rosen coached us on what to say when the cops showed up. As if right on cue, a few San Juaquin deputies pulled into the lot and I watched through the window as they made their way up to the front door. I walked over to Jax and he grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers with mine before giving me a reassuring smile. I don't know what it was about being around Jax, but I felt like he could solve any problem. That everything would always be okay as long as he was around.

"Church as soon as these fuckers leave," Jax announced as he turned to the club members, his eyes narrowed. Gemma opened the front door, glaring at the deputies, but stepping aside as they walked in.

The deputies questioned each of us in turn, using the chapel to keep us separated. An hour later, realizing they weren't going to be getting anything off of us, they left and Jax called everyone to church. I grabbed two more beers from the bar and sat next to Gemma on the couch, handing her one. We sat in silence as I thought about Lux and what the hell I was going to do with all of Luann's stuff. I wasn't looking forward to stepping into her house, knowing she was gone, knowing that another parent had been ripped out from me. And then I thought of Otto. Of my father.

"Does Otto know?" I asked Gemma. She nodded.

"He knows," she responded.

"I need to go see him, talk to him," I told her. She nodded.

"I'll make sure it's worked out," she said. I could tell she was distracted. This had been a long and horrible day.

SOASOASOA

A week had passed since Lux's bail hearing and she was out but not completely free. She was required to wear an ankle monitor to make sure she didn't leave the country, but she could pretty much do as she pleased, which was mostly Tig every second of the day. Jax had been on a lot of short runs, I was assuming gathering intel on Zobelle but we didn't seem to be at a full disclosure level of our relationship yet. I thought I might prefer it that way. Ignorance is bliss, after all. Whatever he was doing, it didn't change the fact that I'd been by myself more often than not this past week. I knew he was getting back from his latest run sometime today and I sat in my room, trying to ignore the crazy animal monkey sounds coming from behind Lux's door until I couldn't take it anymore.

The assets I'd inherited from Luann had finally been unfrozen and I'd received the keys to her house. I'd been putting off going over there, but I figured now was as good a time as any. I didn't want to keep the house. It would all just be a sad reminder of what I'd lost. But I still needed to box it up, see what I could sell, see what I could donate, and talk to Otto about what he'd want me to keep. I knew the sons would help me, but I wanted to go over there first by myself. For some reason, I felt the place held answers for me. This was my father's house, too, after all – a connection I never thought I'd have.

The one possession of Luann's that I did decide to keep was her Mercedes Benz SL convertible. I knew she obviously wanted me to have it as she'd given it to me, but I still felt guilty every time I drove it. I didn't like the fact that I had benefitted from her death, but getting rid of the car wouldn't bring her back and it was way better than the beater I'd been driving.

I pulled up to Luann's and took a deep breath as I stepped out of the car, looking up at her house, preparing myself for entry. I suddenly wasn't so sure I could do this on my own and knew the only person I'd want with me was Jax. I quickly dialed his number and he answered on the first ring.

"You busy?" I asked.

"Never too busy for you, darlin," he responded and I felt my heart race as it often did when I was talking to Jax.

"Are you back?" I asked him.

"Just pulled in about 5 minutes ago," he responded.

"Will you do me a favor?" I asked, "Will you come meet me at Luann's? I thought I could come over here by myself and start going through some of her stuff, but I just don't think I can."

"Why do you need to go through Luann's stuff?" he asked. Shit. I'd forgotten I hadn't told him the small detail of Luann giving me upwards of 5 million dollars in cash and prizes.

"I'll explain when you get here, just come?" I asked.

"Be there in 5," and he hung up. I walked up to the front door, taking deep breaths as I stood in front of it. I fit the key in the lock and turned it slowly. I didn't know why I was so nervous. It was as if I felt her ghost was going to come flying through the door at any second. When no apparitions appeared, I entered the house and looked around.

It was a beautiful house. Two stories with a large open kitchen right off the living room. She'd decorated it beautifully. I took a second to explore every room in the house, finally coming to her bedroom. I took a deep breath and opened the door. The sight of her bed, still rumpled from the last time she slept in it, finally did it for me and I crumpled in a heap by her closet door, allowing myself a few minutes to cry and mourn the loss of a friend and the closest thing to a mother I'd ever known mother.

"Jess?" I heard Jax say as he opened the door to her room and saw me lying on the floor, sobbing. He rushed over to me and scooped me into his arms, holding me against him, letting me cry into his shoulder. He kissed the top of my head and I pulled away, smiling meekly at him and wiping my eyes.

"Thanks for coming," I said and he nodded, kissing me softly on the lips.

"Of course, darlin," he responded. He held my face in his hands, gently wiping away my tears with his calloused hand. I leaned my cheek against his palm, wanting to stay with him like that forever. Knowing he'd always take care of me, always be there for me.

"Come on, let's get you home," he said, helping me stand and guiding me out of the house.

SOASOASOA

The next day, I sat on the couch in the living room watching TV when Lux walked in. It was the first time I'd seen her out of Tig's company since she'd been released. I knew she'd been avoiding me and in all honesty, I had been avoiding her a little, too. Which I knew was crappy – here was my best friend, the girl who had taken me under her wing, stood up for me, vouched for me, given me a place to live, from the second I moved to this town. And now she was out on bail on a murder rap with the possibility of going to jail for the rest of her life, and I couldn't bring myself to be there for her. I was a shitty person.

Lux sat in the chair next to me and stared blankly at the TV. Finally, she grabbed the remote off the coffee table and clicked it off. I turned to look at her, eyebrows raised.

"Do you have something to say to me?" she asked, the Morrow toughness in her coming out, steeling herself for a fight.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I retorted, grabbing a magazine off the table and starting to flick through it, anything to distract me from her. She grabbed it out of my hand and tossed it across the room.

"You've barely said two words to me since I was arrested," she said, her toughness disappearing and a pained expression crossing her face, "Why? Do you believe me? Do you believe I didn't do this?" I sighed, sitting up on the couch and looking at her.

"I want to Lux, I really do," I told her truthfully, "I want to believe that you had nothing to do with it, but I just … I just can't." Lux eyes narrowed.

"How could you think I'd kill Luann?" she asked.

"You were on drugs!" I told her, my voice rising, "How am I supposed to know what you're like when you're high?"

"Because you know me!" she yelled, rising to her feet, "You know me better than anyone, because everyone else knows me as the ex-junkie Lux. I've tried so hard for years to get past that, but everyone still uses it against me. I liked that you didn't know that part about my past, that you could never judge me based on that, only on me. And now that you know, you've decided that even though you know I would never do it, it's totally possible I could kill someone off of ONE line of coke." I stared at her for a second, absorbing the pain that stretched across her face.

"You're right," I sighed, standing up as well, "You're right, Lux. I'm sorry. I should have never suspected you at all. I'm sorry." Lux's eyebrows rose. I don't think she thought I'd come around that easily. But everything she said was true. I knew there was no way she could have killed Luann, no matter what she was on. She was my friend, and this was the time for me to support her.

"I need you to be here for me right now, Jess, I'm freaking out," she admitted, "Zobelle has done a hell of a job setting me up and if the club doesn't find a way to prove I didn't do it within the next month before my trial, they have enough evidence to put me away. Forever." Her eyes started welling up with tears, "I need to know you're on my side."

I nodded and pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm on your side, sweetie," I told her, "Of course I'm on your side." She held me tightly until Tig walked in whistling. I immediately let go and turned to look at Tig, who looked sorely disappointed, holding up his phone with the camera facing us.

"You didn't give me time to get a picture," he whined. Lux slapped him upside the head and I laughed, glad things were starting to get back to normal. Except, of course, for Lux's ankle monitor and impending trial that would determine the rest of her life, but I tried not to think about that.

SOASOASOA

That afternoon, Aunt Rose called and invited me to dinner. It had been weeks since I'd seen her and I'd felt really guilt about it, but so much had happened that I hadn't been able to make the time. I also didn't want her to lay into me how worried she was, but I sucked it up and accepted the invitation.

She'd made a pot roast with some potatoes and vegetables and we sat down at her small dining room table to eat.

"I'm sorry about Luann," she said as she sat a plate in front of me and took her own seat. I gave her a small smile but didn't respond, "I've been so worried ever since I heard. You need to call your aunt more often, you know." I nodded.

"I know, I'm sorry," I said. She shook her head.

"That's okay," she responded, "Now tell me what's been going on in your life." I told her all about Jax and me getting together after Tara split. She pursed her lips at the information, but didn't say anything. I debated telling her about the inheritance and decided I needed someone to talk about it. So far it had been the huge secret that I hadn't mentioned to anyone.

"Luann left me everything she owns," I told her, and Aunt Rose dropped her fork.

"Everything?" she said, aghast, "Honey, she's gotta be worth millions with that club of hers."

"5 million, to be exact," I said, sighing, "I have no idea what to do with it all. I know the club will want me to rebuild Cara Cara, but with everything that's happened, I don't know if I can st– I just don't know what to do." I faltered before expressing the one thing that had been on my mind since Rosen told me I was now a millionaire – do I use it to get the hell out of Charming and away from all the danger being close to SAMCRO brought?

Aunt Rose looked at me thoughtfully and finally spoke.

"I'm not going to lie," she said, "I was worried when I knew you were getting involved with SAMCRO. I've been there before, not as deep as you – Daisy was the one hanging around the club all the time, I just tagged along every once in a while. But that club is trouble – no doubt about it. I have a lot of respect for them and what they've done for Charming, but I'm not going to say I'm happy you're getting involved with them. And dating the president – that just puts a target on your back right there. I'd sleep a lot better knowing you were somewhere safe, but I sure would miss the hell out of you if you left," she looked pointedly at me, "Not that I see much of you as it is." I grinned, shaking my head.

"I know, I know. And thanks. I've got a lot of thinking to do," I said, sighing.

SOASOASOA

The next day, Gemma had finally let me know she had pulled some strings and got me a meeting with my dad. Jax had offered to come with me, but I really needed to talk to him alone. I'd only ever talked to him once and I wanted to get as much out of these visits as I could. Plus, I had a lot I needed to talk to Otto about, and Jax didn't know about my inheritance yet. I wasn't sure I really wanted to tell him just yet.

I walked into the visiting area to see Otto sitting behind a table. He stood when I walked in and embraced me like I was the daughter he never knew he had. I stayed like that, feeling the warmth and love from a parent, a feeling I never thought I'd have the joy of knowing, until a guard separated us and we took our seats across from one another at the table.

"Otto, I'm so sorry-" I began, but was cut off by him holding up a hand.

"Don't, baby girl," he said, "I was devastated by Luann, and I'm even sorrier you didn't get more of a chance to know her. But don't you be sorry for me." I nodded and took a deep breath.

"Luann left me everything," I said, "Did you know?" He nodded.

"We worked it out together," he said, "She agreed that since you're my blood, that makes you her family, the only family she's got. She didn't want everything going to anybody else."

"I don't know what to do with it all," I admitted, "The insurance money, everything. I wanted to ask you what you want me to do with it. Should I rebuild Cara Cara?" I looked pleadingly at him and he just shook his head. I just wanted someone to tell me what to do.

"Baby girl, you do whatever you think will make you happy," he responded, "You've lived a hard life, and had I known you were out there in this world that would not have been the case. But what is, is and we can't change it. What I can do for you is make sure the rest of your life is better, and I'm glad I have the opportunity to do even that, even behind these bars. I want you to take that money and do whatever you want with it. I know the club will want you to rebuild Cara Cara, they're part owners and they'll get about a third of the insurance money, but they won't be able to rebuild it alone and they'd need to find some other way to earn legitimate to launder their gun money through. They can't be livin large while the auto-repair shop is the only thing they got goin for them on paper. But if you're asking me to tell you to rebuild, I'm not going to. I want you to do what's right for you. It's the least I can do for you."

"I'm not sure I want to rebuild," I confessed, "But I have no idea what I'd do with the money if I didn't."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," he said. I nodded.

"I need to go through Luann's stuff," I told him, "Is there anything in there you want me to keep? I'm not sure what to do with it all, and it really makes me sad going through it. I'd rather just box it all up and donate it, but if there're some important things in there, I want to make sure I keep it." Otto nodded.

"I'll send you a list, how's that?" he said. I nodded and then he asked, "How are you and Jax?" I felt myself blush deeply and grinned.

"How'd you know?" I asked.

"A father always knows," he said, and winked.

"We're good," I said, "Great, really." Otto smiled back at me.

"He's a good man," he said, "When he's got his head on straight and not thinking with his dick." I laughed and nodded and much more quickly than I would have liked, our time was up.

I started the drive back to Charming, my mind filled with thoughts I didn't know what to do with. I certainly didn't want to hurt the club, but with all of this money, I would be set for life. I could go anywhere I wanted. In the short time I'd been involved with the Sons of Anarchy, I'd already been shot in my own home and a dear friend had been murdered. Was this the life I wanted for myself? And then I thought about Jax. Would he leave with me? And if not, was he reason enough to stay?

There was only one person I knew that I could really talk to about the decision to leave or stay that wouldn't just try to talk me into staying. That could give me insight into what to expect if I did stay, and what it was like to leave. I immediately exited the freeway and turned around, in the direction of Santa Barbara. I called Lux to let her know I wouldn't be home tonight and asked her to tell Jax for me, and subsequently turned my phone off. I knew he'd be pissed at not knowing where I was, but this was something I had to do now, or I never would, and I definitely didn't want him to know where I was going.


	3. Chapter 17

**A/N ****Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed so far! This chapter has things heating back up with Jax and Jess :) I hope you like it! **

By the time I got to Santa Barbara, it was close to midnight. After getting a cheap motel room to sleep in that night, I walked into the hospital the next day and saw my intended target almost immediately. She looked up from some paperwork she was reviewing at the front desk and raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Jess?" she said.

"Hey, Tara," I responded. She walked over to me.

"Is everything okay? Is Abel-" she asked, looking worried, but I interrupted her.

"Abel's fine, everyone's fine," I reassured her, "Well except Luann. She's … dead." The words faltered coming out of my mouth and Tara heaved a deep breath.

"Come to my office," she said, "we can talk in there." She led me down the hall to a door on the left, which she unlocked and motioned for me to go in ahead of her. I took a seat in front of her desk and she took the one behind it.

"So what's going on?" she asked.

"I don't know if this is really appropriate, given the circumstances between us, but you're the only person I knew that I could really talk to about this," I began. Tara nodded, encouraging me to continue. I explained to her about inheriting the money from Luann, and how I wasn't sure if I wanted to rebuild Cara Cara or get the hell out of town. She listened to me and when I was finished, took a deep breath before replying.

"If you want my real advice, get out now," she replied, "But I'm sure you knew I'd say that, as it's exactly what I did, so I'm guessing there's more you wanted from me." I nodded.

"Why did you leave?" I asked her, "What part of living in Charming was so bad you made the decision to leave?" She shook her head.

"I always hated the life," she said, "I never wanted to be a part of it again. I fought it tooth and nail, but I was in love with Jax. Had been my whole life. And loving Jax means learning to love the club. And I did, for a few years. But after a while, I fell out of love with the club, and Jax fell out of love with me. As stupid as it would have been for me, if Jax still loved me, I would have stayed in that town forever. I'm not going to lie to you – a big part of me leaving was because I knew Jax was in love with you, and I just couldn't stand to see him with somebody else." I nodded, feeling slightly guilty.

"But if you don't love him," she continued, "Get out before you do. Because then you'll never leave."

"How did you know he was in love with me?" I asked, my eyes turned down. I desperately wanted the question to be answered, but I felt awkward about the source of the information. Tara just looked at me, her head cocked to one side, a sad smile dancing on her lips.

"I've known Jax for a long time," she said, "I've never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. Especially when you don't know he's watching you."

"But… but he got back together with you," I told her. She shrugged.

"He did. I think mostly because I was comfortable and you were a mystery. I was safe – he had no idea what he'd be getting into with you. I guess he finally decided it was worth the risk and started pushing me further away." I nodded, turning this over in my head, trying not to let the moment get too awkward between me and Tara.

"Okay, well thanks for your help," I finally said, standing up. She stood up, too and walked me to the door.

"Hey, Jess!" she called when I was about halfway down the hall. I turned around to look at her. Her arm rested on the door frame of her office.

"I'd like to be able to check in on you, see how everyone's doing, if you think that'd be okay," she said. I nodded, knowing what she really meant was she'd like to check in and make sure Abel's okay without having to talk to Jax. Who was I to deny her of that? I traded phone numbers with her and left the hospital.

I made the 6 hour drive back to Charming more confused than I had been before my excursion to Santa Barbara. I didn't know how serious Jax considered us. He'd mentioned having me get a crow tattoo, which I knew was a big deal, but that had been weeks ago and so much had happened since. It seemed like a lifetime.

And I also didn't know how serious I considered us to be. Tara was right – if I didn't love him already, it was only a matter of time, and if I was going to leave it would need to be soon. But did I love him? I'd never in my life been in love. Growing up in a series of foster homes, you learn quickly to keep people at arm's length. Don't let them in. Don't trust them. Don't depend on them. Because soon, they all let you down.

But I'd already let Jax in. I'd already given him my trust, and my heart. I thought about the way he looked at me, as if I was the only girl in the room. I thought about the electrifying feeling I got every time he touched me. The way he felt when he was inside me, when it felt like we were the only two people in the world, and I knew.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I knew that I was completely in love with Jackson Teller.

**3****rd**** person POV**

Jax paced the Teller-Morrow lot, redialing Jess' number. Straight to voicemail. Again. He sighed, lighting up a cigarette. Where the hell was she? He checked his watch. It'd been nearly 24 hours since anyone had heard from her. He'd been calling her over and over ever since Lux told him she wouldn't be coming back last night after visiting Otto, but she'd apparently turned her phone off.

"Jess I swear to God if you don't call me back in the next half an hour, I'm going to lose my fucking mind!" he yelled into her voicemail, slamming the phone shut and throwing it on the table next to him.

"Jax, come back in here, I'm sure she's fine," Lux said from the doorway. I ran my hands through my hair, taking one last glance at the spot she always parked in in front of her apartment building that was still infuriatingly empty.

"Do you know if Luann had a lo-jack installed on that car?" he asked Lux. Sensing Jax was a hopeless cause, Lux shook her head and walked back into the clubhouse.

Jess pulled up to her apartment a few minutes later and finally turned her phone back on. She glanced at it before stepping out of the car and saw her voicemail box was full. 34 new messages.

"Shit," she muttered. She took a deep breath and stepped out of the car, immediately hearing a gruff, angry, incredibly sexy voice yell her name. She turned around and saw Jax walking toward her from the T-M lot, tossing a cigarette aside.

"Where the fuck have you been?" he yelled, "I left you like 100 messages. Jesus Christ, Jess you could have been dead!"

'Damn he's sexy when he's angry,' Jess thought to herself, chewing on her lip as he strode up to her.

"But I'm not," she replied, "And that's a little dramatic, don't you think?"

"Dramatic! For fuck's sake, Jess, Zobelle is still out there. He's already tried to kill you once, and he succeeded in killing Luann," his voice shook slightly and he took a deep breath trying to calm himself. He rested an arm on the hood of Jess' car and didn't look at her for a second. When he turned back, the anger in his eyes was replaced by extreme worry and he grabbed her arm, pulling her close to him, wrapping his arms around her.

"Don't ever do that to me again, babe," he said in her ear, "At least keep your fucking phone on, I was going crazy." Jess wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up into his beautiful blue eyes.

"I won't," she said, "I promise."

"Where were you?" he asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She shook her head.

"I just needed to get out of town for a little while, clear my head," she said.

"Clear your head?" he asked.

"Luann dying, Zobelle threatening me at the club – I needed to figure stuff out," she said.

"And did you?" he asked, his eyes searching her face, looking for a hint.

"I figured one thing out," she told him.

"And what's that, darlin'?" he asked. Jess took a deep breath, knowing she was about to say something she'd never said to another person before in her life.

"I- I love you," Jess admitted, fearing his response, but his eyes immediately softened and he grinned, kissing her softly at first, and growing more passionate as she kissed him back. He turned her so she was backed up against the car, never breaking apart as his hands reached down to her ass and in one swift move picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he kept her pinned to the car. She pushed away from him for a second, catching her breath.

"Do you have something to say to me?" she asked him. He smirked that incredibly sexy smirk of his as he eyes darkened.

"I love you, too," he whispered in her ear, before moving down to kiss her neck. At the sound of the words, she felt heat rush through her body, and an involuntary moan escape her lips as his lips traveled from her neck to her chest.

"Then do you want to take this upstairs?" Jess asked softly, her head titled back to give him better access to her body. He groaned against her in confirmation and, still holding her with her legs wrapped around him, carried her upstairs to her apartment. He set her down at the door while he tried to get it open and they stumbled through, never breaking apart. As soon as they were inside, Jess reached up and pulled his cut off his shoulders throwing it on the ground, followed by his tshirt. She ran her hands over his bare chest and Jax felt himself grow with every touch. He lifted her tank top off, followed quickly by her bra, both of which he flung over his shoulder.

They continued throwing clothes, stumbling toward her bedroom door, not wanting to waste any time. Jess could feel his erection pressing against her as he forced his body against hers, kissing her and holding her with one hand while his other hand struggled to get her bedroom door open. She wanted him right then more than she'd wanted anyone in her life. If it wasn't for the fear of Lux and especially Tig coming in and watching the show, they wouldn't have made it past the living room floor.

As soon as they were in her bedroom, Jax shoved her forcefully against the wall, kicking the door shut behind him. He grabbed her hands, holding them in one hand above her head while he kissed her, taking full control. His other hand reached for her breast and she moaned against his lips as his tweaked a nipple, feeling herself flood with lust. He reached down to the zipper of her shorts and shoved them down. She quickly stepped out of them as his fingers caressed the fabric of her thong before he shoved it aside. He immediately pushed his finger into her, feeling her wetness and he ducked his head to the curve of her neck, sucking on her soft skin. She moaned in his ear as his thumb began circling her clit and he shoved a second finger in her, thrusting them in and out. She lifted her leg, wrapping it around his waist as her body started to spasm. She groaned as she came on his hand, immediately wanting more.

Jax pulled his hand out, grinning at her, his eyes filled with lust as he spun her around and threw her on the bed. He stood back for a second, watching her lying on the bed, wearing only her thong, looking at him as though she'd do anything to have him inside of her. He slowly unzipped his jeans and pulled them down with his boxers, standing in front of her. She took the sight in. His chiseled chest rising and falling quickly as he caught his breath, his blue, sexy eyes locked with hers. He swaggered towards her, leaning over her on the bed and kissing her softly, while his hands took off the only barrier left between them – her thong. Jess ran her hands down his chest, sending shivers down his spine, until her hand found the prize it was looking for.

Jax let out a guttural groan as Jess stroked the length of him with one hand while her other hand pulled him on top of her. He locked eyes with her and grinned through his heavily lidded eyes.

"There something you want, darlin?" he asked, teasing her. She nodded frantically, reluctantly taking her hand off him to wrap her legs around his waist.

"Make love to me," she gasped, pleading him with her eyes. Jax leaned over to her bedside table, reaching for the box of condoms he'd left in there. Grabbing one, he hurriedly rolled in on and entered her fully in one thrust.

"Oh God," Jess moaned as Jax picked up a rhythm.

"Say my name," he whispered into her ear as he continued his relentless pounding.

"Jax," she said through gasps of breath, "Oh, God, Jax." He groaned, relishing in the feel of her tight pussy wrapped around him. Without breaking contact, he flipped over so she was on top. Bracing her arms on his shoulders, she moved her hips up and down while Jax sat up pulling her close and taking a breast into his mouth. Jess tilted her head back as she continued pumping.

Jess' breathing shallowed and Jax knew she was close. He reached down, rubbing her clit with his thumb and she screamed. He felt her pussy clamp down around him and knew he couldn't last any longer. Finally letting himself go, they came together. She collapsed on top of him, and her breathing steadied almost immediately as she passed out.

"I love you," Jax whispered quietly in her ear before falling asleep himself, Jess curled up on him, her head on his chest.

**Jess's POV**

I woke up the next morning to the slow and steady rise and fall of Jax's chest. I looked down at him sleeping and smiled before I tried to move off of him and the bed without waking him. It didn't work of course, and through his sleep and sex induced haze he immediately grabbed my arm and pulled me back down.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, grinning as I kissed him.

"I was going to go make some coffee," I told him, "You want any?" He propped himself up on his elbow, running his hand along the length of my arm, before reaching down and grabbing his pack of cigarettes out of his jeans pocket.

"Yeah," he responded before lighting up and leaning back against the head board of my bed. I nodded and grabbed a robe from my bathroom, tying it tightly around myself and praying that Lux never came home last night and her and Tig did not see the evidence of mine and Jax's passion in the form of clothes strewn haphazardly all over the floor. I groaned as I walked into the living room and saw Tig sitting on the couch, a knowing grin slapped across his face. I immediately ducked down to grab the clothes strewn all over the floor.

"Morning," he said in a slightly sing song voice.

"Morning," I muttered, finally grabbing Jax's cut and setting the clothes on the dining table next to the kitchen. I started the coffee pot up as Lux walked out from her bedroom wearing her pajama shorts and a tank top.

"Have fun last night?" she asked, wriggling he eyebrows. When I didn't answer, she prodded some more, "Was Jax so pissed you didn't come home the night before? Did you guys have crazy angry sex? Crazy angry sex is the best kind," she said, turning to Tig, "That right, beefstick?"

"Oh yeah," Tig responded. I cocked my eyebrow at Lux.

"Beefstick?" I asked.

"She's talkin about my cock," Tig responded from his post on the couch.

"You two are a class act," I responded. She grinned.

"I know right? So what did Jax say?" she asked, reverting back to our conversation.

"He was pissed for about a second, and then he was fine," I told her. She raised her eyebrows.

"I've seen Jax pissed. I've never seen him pissed for just a second," she said. I shrugged.

"He was just worried," I told her. Sensing there was something else I wasn't telling her, she leaned towards me over the counter.

"And?" she asked, a tiny glint in her eye. I hesitated and she stuck her bottom lip out, "Come on, you've gotta tell me! My life is shit right now, I need something to think about other than my _murder trial _coming up." I sighed as I filled up two mugs with coffee and turned back to Lux, lowering my voice.

"I told him I loved him," I said, and lux grinned.

"And?" she prodded.

"He told me he loved me, too," I said, not being able to keep my grin going from ear to ear. Lux slapped her hand on the counter.

"Yes! I knew it! Tig, you owe me ten bucks!" she shouted at Tig, who grumbled something that sounded like 'pussy' before digging his wallet out of his pocket. Lux turned back to me.

"And then you just had to tear each other's clothes off and throw them all over the apartment?" she asked, grinning.

"Something like that," I said. It was hard not to smile at the ecstatic expression across Lux's face as she pumped her fist in the air.

"So are you ever going to tell me where you disappeared off to?" Lux asked. I shrugged.

"I just had to clear my head," I said, echoing the same thing I'd told Jax. Lux gave me a look that plainly said she wasn't buying what I was trying to sell, so I picked up the coffee mugs and carried them back into my room before she could interrogate me further.

I didn't know why I wasn't telling Lux where I was. She'd proven herself to be trust worthy. All I knew was as much as I didn't want Jax to find out I had made contact with Tara, I wanted his mother to find out even less, and the less people that knew where I was, the less chance of Gemma hearing about it. Me going to the one person Jax had ever really loved, and the one person who could potentially talk me out of staying with him, would kill Jax, I knew it. And those that hurt her baby earned the wrath of mama Gemma.

I had yet to discover what Gemma's wrath truly looked like.

I walked back into my room to find Jax in the exact same position I'd left him in. He took the mug I handed him and sipped on it for a second, clearly deep in thought. I sat on my knees next to him on the bed, the cup of coffee grasped between my hands.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I said. He set his mug down and turned to look at me.

"You ever going to tell me where you went?" he asked. God, sometimes it was weird how much he and his sister thought alike. I sighed, trying to figure out what I wanted to tell him.

"If I asked you to trust me, would you?" I asked. He sighed, running his hands through his hair, before finally nodding.

"I trust you," he said, searching my face. I smiled and leaned over to kiss him.

"Good, because I trust you, too," I told him, running a hand through his hair. He held my hand against his cheek.

"Doesn't mean I'm not going to worry about you, and it doesn't mean that it doesn't bug the hell out of me that you won't tell me where you went," he said. I looked into his face, the pained expression on it, and knew I wouldn't want him to keep a secret like this from me. So I told a half-truth.

"I went to Santa Barbara," I told him, "I just needed to clear my head and I ran into a girlfriend and just ended up staying." I bit my lip, the lie burning my tongue. I tried to convince myself that technically it was true. Okay, so Tara and I were never exactly _friends_. Jax just nodded.

"Why didn't you want to tell me that?" he asked.

"I thought you'd be even angrier that I'd gone so far away," I said.

"Well I'm not happy about it," he said, "But nothing I can do about it now. Just… don't do it again, okay? I get that you might need to get out of town, just take a patch with you. They can follow you, keep a close distance. I just need to know that you're safe." His eyes pleaded with me and I nodded.

"Okay," I said, "I will." He nodded, but it seemed like there was something else bothering him.

"What's up?" I asked, prodding him.

"Why were you at Luann's house?" he asked, "You never told me." I sighed again. I guess this was the moment I was waiting for to tell him.

"Luann left me everything," I told him. His eyes widened.

"Everything?" he asked, "So Cara Cara and… everything?" I nodded, smiling meekly. A slow grin spread across his face as he took the mug out of my hand and set it on the bedside table. He pulled me so I was lying down and rolled on top of me, "So what, you're gonna be my sugar mama now?" I giggled as he kissed along my jaw line, ending on my lips, as his hand worked on untying the knot in my robe as he slipped his hand inside.

"I love you, Jax," I said, and he lifted his head to look at me.

"I love you too, babe," he whispered, softly kissing my lips, his hand still wandering inside my robe.

"Does this mean I'm your old lady now?" I asked, and he grinned.

"Oh yeah," he said, his hand roaming farther down my body and a mischievous glint in his eye, "This pussy belongs to me."

I laughed and kissed him again, pulling him closer.

**A/N Please review! I struggled over this chapter so your feedback really lets me know if I'm on the right track! Thanks for reading! **


	4. Chapter 18

**A/N Thanks sooo much for all the reviews! They really mean a lot to me! **

After rolling around in the sheets a little while longer, Jax finally forced himself to get up and get some work done at Teller-Morrow.

"Stop by if you want," he said, kissing me good bye, "Otherwise I'll give you a call after I'm done over there." I nodded as he walked out and I threw on some pajamas to walk out into the living room. Tig and Lux had returned to her room so I flipped on the TV to see if anything interesting was on. When I had almost decided that there was absolutely nothing good on to watch, I heard Lux starting to scream from her bedroom.

"You fucking whore! Get the fuck outta my room!" I heard her scream. I heard a muffled thump in the hall and then the door slam shut behind her. Tig emerged from the hall, completely naked except for his cut, his clothes bunched up in his hand.

"She's fucking crazy, you know that?" he asked. I raised my eyebrows, wanting to respond that he was the one standing naked in my living room, but decided to let it go, "I mean so I said some other girl's name." He turned his head toward the hall, raising his voice so she could hear him, "It's not that big of a deal! It's not like I cheated on you, I just got my dick sucked! AND it was on a run!"

"ARGHHH!" Lux screamed as she threw open her door and practically hurtled through the hallway, lunging herself at him. At least she had thrown on some shorts and a SAMCRO tshirt so I didn't have two naked crazies dancing in my living room. Tig ducked behind the island in the kitchen before she could get to him. They stood on opposite sides, staring each other down.

"What the fuck were you thinking!" she screamed at him. He furrowed his brow, as if he couldn't believe she would ask such an obvious question.

"What do you mean?" he asked, "I was thinking about getting my dick sucked." She screamed at him again and ran around the island, trying to reach him. Once again, he ran around so now his bare ass was facing where I was sitting in the living room. Awesome. But this was so much better than anything on TV so I sat back to watch, suddenly wishing I had some popcorn.

"I don't know what you're so pissed about," Tig said, "It happened on a run."

"If it happens on a run and then I find out about it, it hasn't STAYED on that run!" Lux screamed in his face. "And how about this – you can think about getting your dick sucked all you want, but I certainly won't be doing it again. At least not for the rest of the whole day. Whatcha think about that, huh?" She stalked back to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"I think I will never ever mix up her name again," he said under his breath, starting to pull the clothes he had bunched in his hand back on before walking out of the apartment. I shook my head as I watched him leave.

That afternoon I walked over to Teller-Morrow and found Jax digging through the hood of a car.

"Hey you," I said. He looked around the hood, grinning when he saw me. He grabbed a rag and wiped his hands off before giving me a hug.

"Hey, you," he responded, kissing me.

"You talked to Tig today?" I asked. He chuckled and nodded, leading me over to sit on the picnic table. He took a cigarette out for both of us and lit them, passing me one.

"Yeah, he was worried I'd be pissed you saw him naked," he said, his eyes full of amusement. I laughed.

"Yeah, I almost decided to leave you for him, but then I got that visual of what _you_ look like naked and-" I closed my eyes, "mmmm, yeah, that's it." I opened them again, looking him up and down.

"I'm feeling slightly violated," he said, grinning and leaning closer to me, "You know if you want to see it in person again, I got about 10 minutes."

"As tempting as that offer is," I said, definitely tempted as I tried to keep my eyes from looking him up and down," I'm gonna have to pass." I had to keep myself from laughing at his look of disappointment.

"What are you doing today that's so important?" he asked.

"I was thinking about going over and trying Luann's again," I told him.

"You gonna be okay by yourself?" he asked, "If you wait a couple hours I can come with you." I shook my head.

"Thanks, but I think I'll be okay. I finally got the letter Otto sent me about all the stuff he wants me to keep, and I kind of want to go through it alone," I responded. He nodded.

"Okay, well call me if you need me. I can drop what I'm doing here," he said, his eyes still worried. I smiled.

"Thanks, but I don't think that'll be necessary," I told him. He nodded.

"Alright, well I'll see you later then," he said, tossing his cigarette aside as he kissed me good bye and I headed back to my car to drive over to Luann's.

The initial shock out of the way, spending time in her house was much easier this time. I hadn't had a break down yet, at least. I walked into her office that was downstairs off the living room. I'd barely peeked in the room the last time, but as I entered, I saw she had a desk in the corner with three monitors a top it. Only one of them was on and it had four boxes on the screen. Three of them were blacked out and one was showing what looked from here to be a parking lot. I crossed the room to get a closer look. It was definitely a parking lot alright. The parking lot in front of what used to be Cara Cara.

My heart started racing a little faster as I grabbed the mouse connected to the monitor. It caused the other two monitors on the desk to come to life, also showing four boxes each, only all of those were blacked out. A file option popped up and I scrolled through what appeared to be dates, going back months. I clicked on one from a few days ago and nothing changed. The three boxes were still blacked out and the fourth was still just the parking lot, looking as it did. I clicked again on one from a month ago and suddenly the three boxes popped up, as well as all four boxes on each of the two other screens, showing images from inside Cara Cara. Inside Luann's office, the bar on the main floor, the stage, the closed area behind glass I had helped serve the sons and the niners, backstage, the dressing rooms – it didn't seem like there was a square inch of Cara Cara that wasn't being monitored and apparently continuously recorded and automatically saved.

"You crazy, paranoid bitch," I said with delight, "You just saved Lux's life."

I immediately grabbed my phone and dialed.

"You need to get over to Luann's right now," I said as soon as Jax picked up the phone, "And bring Juice. And some blank DVDs."

From behind the grave, Luann had served us Lux's get out of jail free card on a silver platter. Jax and Juice watched the tape for me – I couldn't bear to watch Luann's murder – and told me it showed a few of Zobelle's men on it. Assholes hadn't even bothered to cover their faces.

Juice copied the video onto a DVD and presented them to Lieutenant Roosevelt. Lux's charges were dropped and now it was up to SAMCRO to get justice for Luann.

SOASOASOA

The day after turning the tapes into the police, Lux's ankle monitor was removed and we were back at the apartment getting ready for the huge blowout Gemma was throwing for Lux at the club house. We were in her room putting on the final touches to make sure we looked perfect, with just a dash of slutty.

Lux had decided on a red bandage dress that barely covered her ass and a pair of black stilletos that plainly said "come fuck me." I'd let her play dress up on me and I was wearing a blue ruched mini dress of hers. Catching a glimpse of myself in the full length mirror in the bathroom, I wasn't sure how much longer it was going to stay on once Jax saw me. I grinned to myself in the mirror as I worked on my eye liner and looked over at Lux, who looked a million times happier than I'd seen her since her arrest.

"So how you doin?" I asked her. She grinned at me in the mirror.

"So relieved, Jess," she said, sighing, "You have no idea. What would I have done without you?" I shrugged.

"Someone else would have found the tapes, eventually," I told her. She put down the mascara wand and turned to look at me.

"You literally saved my life. Now suck it up and accept my thank you," she said firmly. I laughed.

"Alright alright, you're so welcome," I told her.

"How are you and Tig?" I asked. She grinned.

"Good," she said, with a slight hint of malice in her voice, "He's making it up to me."

"What's he doing?" I asked.

"Oh, we've been playing a little game of mistress and slave and he let's me-"

"Nope! That's okay, don't wanna know," I interrupted her before I became scarred for life. Lux laughed and we heard a knock on the bedroom door.

"Come in!" Lux yelled and Jax stuck his head in Lux's room.

"You almost ready yet? You're late for your own party, Lux. Ma is about to throw a fit," Jax said. Lux rolled her eyes.

"Tell Gemma to chill out," she said, returning to the mirror. Jax's eyes traveled over to mine and then down my dress. His eyebrows rose cockily and he licked his lips, looking me up and down. I ducked my head, grinned coyly at him in the way I knew drove him crazy and he moved into the bathroom, grabbing my hand.

"We'll just be a minute," Jax said grinning mischievously at me.

"What happened to ma's about to throw a fit, we need to get over there right now?" Lux asked, a teasing tone in her voice.

"Uh, yeah feel free to head down without us," Jax called over his shoulder, leading me out of the room. I turned back and caught a glimpse of Lux rolling her eyes again and I giggled as Jax pulled me across the hall into my room.

"I can't possibly let you go out looking like that without doing something about it first," he said, smirking, his eyes darkening and his hands roaming.

"Jax, no," I tried swatting his hands away but he just pulled me closer to him. I gasped as I felt his erection jump and he bent to kiss my neck.

"You see what you're doing to me?" he murmured in my ear.

"But… my hair…" I protested feebly, but he'd already won. He grabbed me and threw me on the bed. This wasn't going to be one of those clothes off, sweet, sensual times. This was going to be one of those I need you right this instant kind of things. He leaned over me on the bed, hiking my dress up above my hips and ripping my thong off, pulling me closer to the edge of the bed. He quickly undid his jeans, letting them and his boxers fall to the floor as he grabbed my legs, resting them on his shoulders and entered me, quick and hard.

He pounded into for about 5 minutes as I struggled to breathe, writhing underneath him on the bed, my hands stretched above me gripping the blanket.

"Oh God, Jax," I groaned as he grunted and I felt him fill me. He leaned over and kissed me on the lips before I rolled over and ran into my bathroom to clean up while he pulled his jeans back up. When I came back out he was sitting on the bed.

"So this probably isn't the best time to ask this, but, you know, I didn't wrap. You're on the pill or something, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, something like that," I responded, "Don't worry, you won't be knocking me up anytime soon." He grinned and kissed me again while I wondered if I'd ever have the courage to tell him _that_ secret.

"You go ahead over there, I need to fix my hair thanks to you," I said. He smirked and walked back over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"And those panties were brand new," I said, looking down at the pair he'd ripped off my body. He leaned down, his face an inch from mine. I felt my breathing quicken and my heart start racing again.

"What can I say, darlin?" he whispered in my ear, "I couldn't wait." He kissed me one more time before walking out of the door.

I walked back into Lux's room to try to salvage my hair and saw her still standing in her bathroom, finishing up her makeup. She glanced up at me as I walked in and smirked.

"That was fast," she said and I laughed, rejoining her at the counter. I fixed my hair quickly and we walked out to head to the party.

When we walked across the street, the party was clearly in full swing. I saw some of the guys, along with some croweaters wandering around outside. Jax was sitting on one of the tables smoking a cigarette while a croweater leaned on him, her arms resting on his shoulders and her face dangerously close to his. He reached his hand up, rubbing the top of her arms and laughing at something she said. I saw her bend down, brushing her lips against his, and he grinned, shaking his head. My eyes narrowed as I watched the exchange.

"Son of a bitch," I muttered angrily. Lux looked over at me, one eyebrow raised.

"You need to do something about that," she advised, "Jax has always been a skank magnet, but now that he's president it's going to be a lot worse. You need to make sure everyone around here knows you're Jax Teller's old lady, and you don't put up with shit." I frowned. I had been putting up with shit my entire life. But Lux was right – I needed to put my foot down, stake my claim.

I just wish I didn't have to do it right now.

I watched as Jax hopped up from the table and walked back inside, the Croweater standing back looking stunned. She turned around and spotted me, a smirk appearing on her face.

"Jax is busy right now," she said, walking over to me, "Why don't you just turn around and go back where you came from." I paused and glanced over at Lux. She was absolutely no help. She ran off as soon as she saw Tig, mouthing "deal with her" to me as she left. I turned back to the Croweater, who I was annoyed to see wasn't half bad looking. If she didn't smell like such a skank and look clearly used up, I might have called her pretty. She had red hair, a heart shaped face, and a pissed off expression. I stepped as far into her personal space as I dared without risking catching a disease.

"Why don't you get out of my face, bitch," I said to her, staring her down. She raised her eyebrows and looked like she was going to say something before I heard someone call "Babe!" I looked up and saw Jax jogging over to me. The Croweater's eyes narrowed as he threw his arm around my shoulder and steered me away.

"Don't let them get to you," he said. I frowned. How was I not supposed to let them get to me when ten minutes after he fucked me, he's down here feeling up on one of them?

"Do you let them get to you?" I snapped. Before he could respond, I jerked myself out of his grasp and walked ahead to the bar.

"Give me a beer," I told one of the Croweaters standing behind the bar, who did as I asked. Jax came up, leaning his back against the bar, arms crossed across his chest.

"You gonna tell you what I did to piss you off, darlin?" he asked, looking slightly amused at my anger. I glared at him.

"Look, I may be new around here. Maybe I don't know the way things work in your world. But here's how they work in MY world. When you're in a relationship with someone, when you tell someone you love them – you don't fuck other people. I don't buy into the 'what happens on a run stays on a run' bullshit, either. Even if it happens on a run, it's still cheating, and so help me God Jackson Teller, if I ever hear about anything going on, that's it," I threw my hands in the air and stalked off to the bathroom to calm down for a second, leaving Jax and his stupid, condescending, ridiculously sexy smirk at the bar.

Gemma, a.k.a. the last person in the world I wanted to see just then, walked into the bathroom. She faltered when she saw me standing over the sink, glaring daggers at the world. She looked curiously at me, as if trying to put puzzle pieces together in her head, before she crossed her arms and spoke.

"Something bothering you?" she asked. I shook my head, "My son giving you some trouble?" I turned around to look at her.

"How'd you guess?" I asked sarcastically.

"Look honey, let me give you some advice. Those whores out there are just pussy, and Jax has probably had them all at some point," she started. I felt my chest constrict at the thought of Jax fucking that Croweater, and tried to shake the image out of my head. This wasn't new information, but I didn't like the visual I'd given myself, "But if you want to stay with him, you've got to put them in their place. You're Jax Teller's old lady. That means something around here. But they think he's a free dick. You gotta educate – set the bitches straight. The others see it, everyone knows." Apparently deciding that she didn't have to pee after all, she turned on her heel and walked out the door.

"Send Jax in, will you?" I called after her. She turned and smirked, winking at me before letting the door shut behind her. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was still pissed at Jax but Gemma was right – if I didn't do something about the skanks, they would run right over me to get to Jax. I took a few deep breaths as I heard the door open behind me and Jax walked in. He looked at me for a second, sizing me up, while I stood by the sink still seething.

"Jess," he said, walking towards me. I turned around and pushed him as hard as I could until he was up against the wall. We stared at each other for a second, both of us trying to figure out what my next move was going to be. And then I grabbed his button down, ripping it open, sending buttons flying all over the bathroom, pulling it over his cut so they hung on his shoulders. He grinned and grabbed me, picking me up and setting my on the sink on the other side of the bathroom, situating himself between my legs and holding my head as he kissed me. My lips parted, allowing his tongue entry and he moaned against my lips as I wrapped my legs around his waist.

"You ruined my panties, so I'm not wearing any," I whispered in his ear as I broke away from his kiss. He grinned at me for a beat before fumbling with his jeans, shoving them down past his hips and reaching down between my legs to get me ready. Feeling how wet I was he drove himself into me and I panted. His back was to the door and I glanced over at it, hoping Gemma wasn't going to let me down. She was a smart woman, she knew what I wanted.

As if on cue, the redhead from earlier opened the door and froze as she saw us. I locked eyes with her from over Jax's shoulder and grinned as he continued to thrust in and out of me. I grabbed the back of Jax's head, digging my fingers through his hair as I stared her down. I watched her expression go from open mouthed surprise, to anger, to defeat before turning my attention back to Jax, pulling his mouth towards mine. Before Jax knew anything had happened, she walked out of the bathroom.

Jax finished and kissed me on the lips.

"I'll meet you outside, okay?" he said, and I nodded. He walked out the door, leaving me alone in the bathroom.

I freshened up as quickly as I could and walked out of the door. The first person I spotted was Gemma who raised her eyebrows at me. I grinned at her and she tilted her head up – the Queen's approval. This was a seriously fucked up family. The next person I saw was the redhead and her army of skanks. I held my own this time, daring her to say something to me, but she didn't. She glared at me and then turned back to her friends.

I turned to walk out the door and saw Lux curled up next to Tig in a booth in the corner. I smiled, watching them. They may be the most fucked up couple I've ever known, but damn if they weren't actually cute.

I opened the door and walked outside to find Jax. He turned when he heard me come out and reached for my hand, taking it and kissing me as I walked up to him.

"So do we need to talk about what just happened?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No, we're good," I murmured, "But I still stand by what I said earlier." He kissed me again, long and gentle and sweet, before pulling away and resting his forehead on mine.

"I'm not going to cheat on you," he said, "I never have. Even before we got together, when I wanted you so bad and you wouldn't give me the time. All I could think about was you and being with you. For fuck's sake, I had to have my _sister_ talk to you – that's desperation, babe. I knew the other girls would just be a substitute for the one I really wanted to be with." I smiled as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and kissed my cheek.

The parking lot was mostly empty now and he led me to the picnic tables. He straddled the bench and I leaned against him, my back against his chest and my feet propped up on the bench. He took my hand in his and rubbed his thumb along the back of my hand.

"So how are things going for you, Mr. President?" I asked, watching his thumb move back and forth on my hand.

"Well, I had to tell the club at church today that Luann left you Cara Cara. They're leaning on me pretty hard to find out when you're planning on getting construction started," Jax said. I sat up and turned to look at him, holding his hands in mine and not quite meeting his gaze.

"Actually, I haven't really decided if I want to rebuild," I told him, finally raising my eyes to look at his face. He looked away, taking a deep breath.

"I was afraid of that. Jess you know we need that business," he said, looking back at me, "The auto-repair shop is just not a big enough front for us anymore."

"But with all this money, Jax, you could get out. We could go away – together. With Abel," the idea started seeming so wonderful now that I was saying it out loud. I was picturing Jax and me in a little house somewhere, sending Abel off on his first day of school. Not worried about anyone trying to kill us. Not worried about how to launder illegal money, "You don't have to be an outlaw, anymore, baby. It could be amazing – just you and me." My eyes searched his face, wanting so bad for him to break out in that grin of his, scoop me up in his arms, and tell me to start packing. But he didn't. His eyes darkened slightly, a sadness in them, as he kissed the back of my hand again.

"I can't leave my club, Jess. Don't think the idea's never occurred to me before, but I just can't. I made my decision to stay when I accepted my position as president. If you don't want to rebuild Cara Cara, we'll figure out something, but I can't leave… and I don't want you to leave either," he said.

"You could leave," I whispered quietly, "The club would be fine without you. You just won't."

"The club wouldn't be fine without me. All this shit with Clay, I mean you don't even know half the shit going on, Jess," he said. I narrowed my eyes.

"And whose fault is that?" I asked. He sighed, rubbing my cheek with his hand.

"I know, babe. But you just have to trust me when I tell you there are things I _can't_ tell you. Not yet, at least," he said. I looked at him doubtfully, before I thought about all the secrets I had wrapped up, neatly put away, to be taken out at a much, much later date, and I nodded.

"I trust you," I whispered, "But promise me one thing?" He looked at me questioningly, and nodded, "Once you figure out everything that's going on with Clay and all the other stuff you're dealing with and you've got it all straightened out, promise me you'll at least reconsider leaving with me. Please?" He cupped my face in his hands, kissing me gently.

"I promise," he said as he pulled away, "I promise I'll reconsider."

"Are you two ever going to come inside?" I turned and saw Gemma leaning against the door. Shit. How long had she been standing there? How much had she heard?

"We're coming," Jax said, standing up with me, throwing his arm around my shoulder and steering me inside. He left me to go to the bar and Gemma stood next to me.

"I like you, Jess," she said, not looking at me, staring out at the party, surveying the wild debauchery going on, "I always liked you, and I think you're a good Old Lady for my son. But if you want to leave, there's the door. Don't let it hit you on the way out, and don't even think about bringing my son with you. Few have tried, and all have failed, and I guarantee you, Jess - you don't want me as an enemy." And with that she walked away. I glared after her, thinking about the letters Tara had given me, about how they indicated that Gemma had had something to do with her late husband's death. I knew that she wasn't someone to cross, but I also knew that those letters were my insurance to getting Jax the hell out of Charming.

I just had to figure out exactly how I wanted that to play out.

**A/N ****This chapter is probably my favorite so far, so I hope you all liked it! Your reviews let me know if I'm heading in the right direction. I had a lot of fun writing it so please let me know how you think I did! If I get enough reviews, I may even post the next chapter tonight! **


	5. Chapter 19

**A/N Again, thanks everyone for reviewing! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the feedback! The next two chapters were originally one long chapter, but it got to be way too long, so I have the rough draft for the next chapter written out! So please review this chapter and let me know what you think so I can get to posting the next chapter! **

"Hey do you think you could give me a lift to work?" Lux asked me as she stood in her bathroom getting ready for work one morning. It was a few weeks since she'd been cleared of all murder charges and she had finally decided she needed to start making money again. With the rebuild of Cara Cara put on an indefinite hold until I figured out what to do or the Sons earned the money on their own, whichever came first, Lux had had to look elsewhere. The only other strip club within Charming city limits was a place called Georgie's, which most of the Cara Cara employees had fled to after it had burned. Lux finally settled and took a waitressing job there, mostly because she knew the other waitresses already from Cara Cara and she could make a lot more money waitressing there than any other restaurant.

"Sure," I replied, "What's wrong with your car?" Lux shrugged.

"I'm not sure, I had to bring it into TM yesterday, it was acting weird," she said, frowning. I nodAded.

"Yeah, I don't mind giving you a ride," I responded. She finished her makeup and looked over at me.

"Must be nice, not having to work," she said grinning. I shook my head.

"Yeah, but half the time I'm so bored," I told her.

"So fucking rebuild Cara Cara already and get your ass back to work!" she said, "Then you can give me my old job back. Georgie's creeps me the fuck out." She shuddered slightly as she emerged from the bathroom.

"Why, what's wrong with it?" I asked, assuming it had been like Cara Cara, which sure, had been slightly sleazy, but for a strip club it was a pretty class joint. Luann had run that place with an iron fist, and she protected her girls.

"You can take a look when you drop me off, see for yourself," she said, looking pointedly at me.

SOASOASOA

An hour later, I pulled up outside of Georgie's and found a parking place, then walked with Lux up to the building. The outside was pretty beat up and run down. Whereas Cara Cara had looked polished and upscale, this club looked like it would be the place to be if you wanted to watch pregnant crack whores shaking their stretch marks in your face. I grimaced as I followed her inside.

Inside was almost exactly what I expected from looking at the outside. How the hell had this place even stayed open when Cara Cara was still up and running?

"Goddammit Lux where the hell have you been?" an angry voice shouted from behind us. We turned around quickly and saw a pudgy, 50 something man storm up to her. Lux checked her watch.

"Jesus Christ Georgie, I'm only like 3 minutes late," Lux responded, her eyes narrowed.

"3 minutes too long. Keep it up and you'll be out of a job," he sneered at her before stalking off.

"That's the owner, Georgie Caruso," Lux said, "He's fucking certifiable. And not in a good way, either." My eyes followed his retreating back.

"Well I better get to work," Lux sighed, "Pick me up after work and we can sneak off to Lodi, have a little retail therapy," she said, wriggling her eyebrows. I gave her an incredulous look.

"After Jax got so pissed about me going to Santa Barbara?" I asked, shaking my head, "I don't think so." Lux waved her hand.

"Oh please, Santa Barbara is like 6 hours away. Lodi is right now the street. They'll never know! Come on, I have got to get out of Charming, at least for an hour," she said, "Please please please please please please!"

"Okay, fine!" I said laughing as she clapped her hands.

"Excellent. Okay I get off at 7, be on time!" she said, and ran off to work her tables. I looked around the dingy room, spotting the restroom sign on the other side of the club and headed over there. I pushed open the door and stopped in my tracks.

"Oh, um, sorry," I mumbled as I saw a man zip up his pants, a blond on her knees in front of him. He barely glanced at me before throwing a wad of bills in the girls face and brushing past me out the door. As the girl stood up, I got a good look at her face.

"Leslie?" I said hesitantly. She smiled embarrassedly at me before shoving the money down her bra. Leslie was one of the few dancers from Cara Cara that I could actually stand. She wasn't in the mindset so many others were that they were somehow better than the waitresses. I knew she had two little boys that her mother watched for her when she had to work, and was just dancing to try to pay her way through school, taking online classes and pursuing a business degree.

She dug into her bra again and took out a travel sized bottle of Listerine and chugged half of it, swirling it around in her mouth before spitting it out, looking disgustedly at herself in the mirror.

Leslie, what are you doing?" I asked. She looked at me through the mirror and shrugged half-heartedly.

"I'm doing what I have to to support my family," she said defensively. I raised my eyebrows.

"What you have to?" I asked. This kind of stuff hadn't gone on in Cara Cara – Luann had made sure of it. I'd seen her fire girls for giving full service.

"This isn't like Cara Cara, Jess," she said exasperatedly, "Cara Cara was the exception to the rule. Any club between here and San Francisco, you've gotta get on your knees if you want to make the kind of money we were getting over there. Sometimes more. Georgie expects it. If he finds out his customers aren't being… satisfied…you're out of a job. I need this job, Jess - no place else that will hire me right now can pay me what I need, and I barely make ends meet as it is." She shook her head, walking past me and back out the door. I stared at the closed door, frowning, before I went back to the main room, looking for Lux.

I spotted her flirtatiously chatting up a table of middle aged rednecks, who were gawking at her like she was something to eat. I saw one of them grab her ass, and through her giggles as she playfully swatted his hand away, I saw her body stiffen slightly.

She walked off from their table and up to the bar to put their drink orders in as I walked up to her.

"You wanna tell me what the hell is going on here?" I asked. Lux looked over at me, lips pursed.

"So you've noticed," she said.

"Noticed? I walked in on Leslie sucking some dude off in the bathroom!" I said. Lux shrugged.

"It's expected. The only reason Georgie hasn't been laying into me is cuz he knows who my family is, and it's a good thing, too, cuz any one of these mother fuckers stuck anything in my mouth, they'd be leaving a eunuch," she said, not being able to hide the disgust and bitterness spitting out of her mouth.

This was my fault. I had forgotten that not rebuilding Cara Cara affected more people than just me and the Sons, who I wasn't too worried about as I knew they could figure something out. But all of these girls stuck here, having to work for this Georgie guy, literally having to bend over and take it just to keep their jobs? I was disgusted.

"I have to rebuild, don't I?" I asked her quietly, unable to take my eyes off of Leslie's miserable expression, who was now onstage, as she tried to perform. Lux shrugged.

"Don't you think so?" she asked, looking around the room with me. There were several other girls I recognized from Cara Cara – a couple of waitresses and some dancers wandering around. I watched as Georgie chewed another one of my girls out. I could sense the threats in his tone from here, as they stared at the floor, and I nodded.

"Yes," I said, realizing my chance of getting out of Charming with Jax by my side was slipping through my fingertips, but knowing I couldn't in good conscience do anything else.

**3****rd**** person POV**

Gemma Teller-Morrow had spent a lifetime building her kingdom, and she would do anything to protect it. She had nearly lost it all several years ago when Jax had found that damn book of John's, and those fucking letters. At least she knew those had been taken care of.

And then in the meantime Tara had wormed her way back into Jax's heart. She knew she'd been on the verge of losing him then, with his crazy talk about going Nomad, or getting out all together.

But then he had accepted his position as president and everything seemed to be going the right way. Tara had left and Jax had moved onto Jess. A move up, in Gemma's opinion, at the time.

Now she wasn't so sure. If Jax had a fault, it would be that he has a tendency to fall head over heels and let his heart and his dick guide his life, and if he really loved this girl, Gemma knew there was a chance that she could talk him into leaving. And if she was going to go head to head with this girl to keep Jax where he belongs, she needed to know everything she could about her.

Noticing that Jess's car was not in its usual spot at the apartment, she made her way across the street from the Teller-Morrow lot to their apartment and used her key to get in.

"Lux?" she called, "Baby, you home?" When she didn't hear an answer, she walked to Jess's room, cautiously opening the door and closing it behind her. She looked around, wondering where to start.

Jess didn't have a whole lot of possessions. It seemed she kept a pretty minimalistic life. She dug through her closet, careful not to disrupt anything or show any sign that she had been there, and then moved to her dresser. She wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for, but if there was one thing she was certain of, it was that everyone had secrets.

She went through every drawer in the dresser before finally opening the last one. Digging through to the bottom, her hand brushed against something. Pulling it out, she realized it was a black folder, full of papers. Gemma sat down on the bed and shuffled through the papers, her eyes suddenly alighting on some paperwork. As she skimmed through it, she smiled smugly to herself.

"I wonder if Jax knows about _that_," she said to herself, before putting everything back exactly as she found it and making her way out of the apartment, locking it behind her.

**Jess' POV**

That evening, I picked Lux up from work while Jax had called an emergency meeting with the club. This should give us at least an hour before he called to see where I was. Lux hopped in my car as soon as she saw me pull up.

"Let's go!" she said, waving some newly earned money in my face that was clearly burning a hole in her pocket.

We walked around the shopping area of Lodi, stepping into little shops when we saw something cute in the window. We stepped into a story called Lily and Sunny's and looked around for a few minutes before I heard my phone ring and glanced at the caller ID.

"Jax," I told Lux. She set down the dress she was holding up and shook her head.

"Don't answer it, he's gonna be so pissed," she said.

"I have to answer it," I told her, flipping it open.

"Well at least don't tell him where we are!" she begged as I put the phone to my ear.

"Hey, baby," I said as innocently as I could.

"Hey where'd y'all run off to?" he asked, a slightly accusatory tone in his voice.

"We're just shopping," I said vaguely as I looked around the store. Lux waved me over and we walked out onto the street together.

"Shopping where?" he asked.

"This place called Lily and Sunny's," I said, glancing back at the name above the store we had just exited.

"Which would be where?" Jax asked, his patience clearly wearing thin.

"Okay, don't be mad. We came into Lodi," I admitted, picturing the eye roll I knew he was giving me, trying to keep his sanity.

"Umm… Jessica," I heard Lux say, and held a finger up, knowing I was about to get an earful from Jax.

"Lodi! What the fuck, Jess?" he said, "You promised you wouldn't-"

"Jessica! RUN!" Lux said as she grabbed my hand and pulled me away. I turned to see a black van stopped near us and a few men in suits chasing after us.

"Jax!" I screamed into the phone as I ran as fast as could with Lux, "Jax! Help!" I knew he couldn't help. Knew he was at least half an hour away from me, but I couldn't help hoping that he would magically appear, as if he knew I'd go to Lodi and was already here to meet me.

I ran as fast as I could, but I knew it was over, knew we weren't going to get away here. I can outrun the best of them in the right gear, but not in flip flops. As the man behind me closed in on me, my only thought was how to help Jax find us. I turned around and fumbled with my phone, pressing several buttons, hoping it had worked.

"What!" Jax was screaming, "What's going on?"

But I couldn't answer. One of the men had grabbed me around my waist and I dropped the phone, screaming. I looked around the street. People were stopped and just staring at us.

"HELP!" I screamed as I saw Lux being shoved into the van, but nobody did anything. Nobody moved. The men were waving guns around and soon I was shoved into the van with Lux. The men that had grabbed us hopped in and the van peeled away from the curb while one of them was still closing the door. There were three in back with us, and two up front in the driver and passenger seats.

"You – stupid – mother – fuckers!" Lux screamed, kicking her feet anywhere she could, "You don't even know how dead you all are!" They just chuckled at her as one grabbed a rope and began tying us up back to back.

What the fuck had just happened?


	6. Chapter 20

**A/N this is another long chapter, but there just wasn't any good places to split it. I hope you like it! Please please review! I've got another idea bouncing around my head that I'm going to start on pretty soon, but I'll definitely still be working on this story, too! (especially if you guys keep reviewing, hint hint!) **

**Jax's POV**

"JESS!" I screamed into the phone. I didn't know what the fuck had just happened but I knew it wasn't good. I could hear her screaming for help but she sounded far away, as if she had dropped her phone, " SHIT!" I screamed, throwing my phone across the room.

"TIG! OPE! JUICE!" I yelled as I was halfway out the door, "CLAY! EVERYONE! " I heard them come running after me when I was already halfway on my bike.

"Zobelle's got Lux and Jess," I told them, strapping my helmet on. That much I was sure about. We'd been spending nearly every minute we could since Zobelle showed his face in Charming trying to figure out what he was up to, and we hadn't turned up much.

His comment at Cara Cara rung in my ears – 'the sons will stop all of their enterprises, effective immediately, or I will do it for you.' He must have known we wouldn't just bend over, and we'd been trying ever since to figure out where he was hiding out in order to kill the problem at the source. Unfortunately, Zobelle was a slippery mother fucker. Juice had found a couple of properties he owned all around the state, which gives much credit at Juice's skills because Zobelle is pretty good at not leaving much of a trail to him - and I'd checked most of them out. It hadn't turned up much; most of them were abandoned residences that I didn't think had been stepped in in years. A few businesses, but those didn't look like he'd had much to do with them on a day-to-day. Other than that, most of our leads had run pretty cold.

"Opie and Tig come with me. Juice – Dig deeper into Zobelle. Anything else you can find, any properties you may have missed. Look into his lackeys, anyone connected with him. Also, see if you can hack into the 911 calls. It sounded like the girls were picked up off the street. Someone must have called 911. See if you can get any information on who picked them up, what they were driving, what fucking direction they went, anything!" Juice nodded and ran back into the clubhouse. I ran a hand through my hair, willing myself to think straight.

"Bobby, Chibs, and Happy – see if you can't get a meeting with the Nords. They worked with Zobelle and they hate that mother fucker almost as much as we do – they may be willing to give you some intel on him. I don't care how you get them to tell you, I don't care if Happy has to break out his fun bag but get anything you can off of them."

"Oh yes I will!" Happy announced.

"Anything any of you find that sounds promising you call me." I told them, mounting my bike, "Actually call Opie. My phone is… busted." Busted into pieces on the clubhouse floor.

"Where are you going?" Bobby asked as I started up my bike.

"Lodi," I told him said.

"I'm coming with you," Clay announced, stepping forward. I shot a finger out at him.

"You will help Juice with his shit," I sneered. I had a feeling all along that this had to do with the drugs we were running, and that was all on Clay. He'd just been officially added to my shit list.

I peeled out of the parking lot, Opie and Tig behind me. My mind raced along with my bike as I sped along the highway towards Lodi. I wasn't sure what I was hoping to find at the scene of the crime. Breadcrumbs, maybe. All I knew was that I had to get to Lodi. To some store called Lily and Sunny's.

Lodi wasn't a large town. Bigger than Charming, but there was still only one main shopping area. I turned down the street, looking to the left and right until I spotted the store. Lily and Sunny's. Police were milling around taking statements. Apparently somebody had called 911. I parked my bike on the street out front and hopped off, not waiting for Opie and Tig to follow. I looked up and down the road, not really sure what I was looking for or what I was hoping to find.

"Are you going to tell us what happened, brother," Opie finally asked. I looked over at him.

"I was on the phone with Jess. Her and Lux snuck out here to go shopping and while I was on the phone with her they both got snatched up," I said.

"Fuck!" Tig yelled, kicking a trashcan. Opie's face had set and his eyes, calculating, scanned the area. He knew more than any of us what it was like to lose a loved one.

"Is that a phone?" he asked, pointing to something on the ground in front of the storefront. I dashed over to pick it up just as a cop came walking up.

"Evening, officer," I said. He looked all of us up and down.

"Were you here about an hour ago?" the cop asked us. We all shook our heads.

"Just arrived," Tig responded. The cop turned to the store, whose windows were decorated with summer dresses, and back to us.

"And you just came to get some shopping done?" he asked suspiciously.

"It's my little sister's birthday next week," Tig spoke up, arms crossed across his chest, "We came to pick out a dress for her." The cop narrowed his eyes and turned his attention back to me.

"What's this all about, officer?" Opie finally asked.

"Two girls got snatched earlier today, right in front of this store," the cop explained.

"That's awful," I said, "You finding any information out from anyone?" The cop shook his head.

"Nobody sees nothing anymore," I heard him mumble as he walked away. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the phone clutched in my hand.

As I opened it, I saw a new picture had been taken. Jess must have taken it while I was on the phone with her. I squinted at it. It was a little blurry, as though she had been shaken when she took it, but she got the van in the picture.

"Good girl," I breathed, praying Juice could get a license plate match off the van, and that it was something we could use. I quickly emailed it to Juice and hopped back on my bike as Opie's phone rang. He answered it and listened for a few beats, nodding and looking over at me. He hung up and turned back to me.

"Juice got some info off the 911 call, and says an APB has been put out on a black van but no one got a license plate. He said he got the picture you sent and he's going to work on enlarging it and see if he can't get the license plate off the picture," Opie said.

"What info did he get from the 911 call?" I asked desperately.

"They went South on this road and then turned left. That's all anybody got," he said. I nodded, knowing it would be a dead end but needing to check, just in case. The last time Zobelle had kidnapped someone I loved, he had had her raped. Repeatedly. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, willing myself not to think about what could be happening to Jess and my sister right now.

**Jess's POV**

Lux and I sat in the van for what seemed like hours before finally stopping somewhere. The three men in back with us hopped out and dragged us inside. I took a quick look around. It was a normal enough street. Suburban. The house was two stories with a large porch out front. They opened the door and shoved us forcefully inside, then dragged us to the basement door. They pulled us down the stairs and I looked around.

It was a dark, moist room. There were two small windows at the top of the wall on the opposite side of the room, covered in bars. A pole was in the middle of the room and the men dragging us shoved us against the pole before handcuffing us behind the back to it and walking out the door. I heard several locks click and then silence.

"What are we going to do?" I whispered to Lux.

"Kill the dirty sons of bitches before my dad, brother, and Tig get the chance to," she responded.

"How are we going to kill them?" I asked, thinking of the plethora of guns all the men had been carrying. Before she had the chance to respond, we heard the locks clicking once again outside the door and the same man that had pressed his gun into my back all those weeks ago in Cara Cara stepped inside, smiling broadly at us.

"Welcome to the party," Zobelle said, extending his arms as if he were our gracious host as he walked down the stairs towards us. Lux glared at him.

"You son of a bitch," she growled, "You've just signed your own death warrant, you realize that, right?" Zobelle just chuckled and shook his head at her.

"They couldn't kill me last time, they're not going to kill me this time," he responded, and the smile was suddenly wiped from his face, "Your… family has been stepping on my toes lately. I just need them to back off, and we'll all be okay."

"You're not into guns," Lux retorted, "How could they possibly be stepping on your toes?"

"Guns aren't the only thing the Sons are running now, my dear," Zobelle responded, raising his eyebrows, "Didn't you know?" I looked frantically at Lux.

"Lux, what's he talking about?" I whispered. She shook her head, not taking her eyes off Zobelle's face.

"What are you talking about?" she asked icily. Zobelle smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Drugs, Lux," he said. Lux narrowed her eyes.

"Sons don't mix with drugs," she responded, "It's always been that way."

"So it has," Zobelle agreed, nodding, "Until recently. They've been getting in the way of my own operation and I need them to back off. I've tried asking politely, and look where it got us? Nowhere. Then I had to go and have that strip club burned down, and poor Luann Delaney." He clicked his tongue, shaking his head, "This could all have been avoided. I only want what's mine."

"Sons don't mix with drugs," Lux repeated firmly, "Your facts are wrong."

"Fraid not, princess," Zobelle responded, "Seems like they've been keeping you out of the loop. Sons have been running drugs for the Gallindo Cartel for a while now." Lux just sat there, shaking her head back and forth.

"No," she said quietly, "No, they wouldn't. They promised."

"Well, I'll leave you two alone. I'll be back for another chat soon, I promise." And with that he walked out of the room. I heard the locks click again and let out the breath I had been holding.

"So what was your big plan?" I asked her again, my arms already starting to hurt from being cuffed behind my back to the pole. She turned as much as she could to look at me, her eyes as big as saucers.

"You don't understand, Jess. We've got to find a way out of here. The last time Zobelle came to Charming, he had my mother kidnapped and gang raped," she said, her mouth set in a firm line. I gasped, staring at the door he had just gone through.

"Jax knows we're missing," I told her hopefully, "He'll find us."

"I hope you're right, Jess," she said, "But I'd bet anything they've been searching for Zobelle since he showed up at Cara Cara. If they haven't found him by now…" her voice trailed off and she was silent for several minutes, "Either way, we can't just sit here and hope they're going to get here in time. We've got to figure this out ourselves."

"Any ideas?" I asked, feeling hopeless. She looked at me, her face expressionless, and then she lifted her handcuffed hands along the pole.

"Your hair, Jess," she said, "Tilt your head towards me." I looked at her curiously but did as she asked and felt her feel around my hair until she found the bobby pins stuck underneath. She pulled them out and stuck them in her mouth, pulling the plastic off the ends and twisting them around. She bent her head to her hands to get the bobby pin out of her mouth and started messing with the lock.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Oh please, my brother taught me how to pick locks when I was like 7," she said, shaking her head at the idiots that were our captors, "This is the easy part. The fun stuff comes later." I wasn't sure our definitions of fun were quite the same, but soon I heard the handcuff click and she removed one of her wrists, shaking it. Just then I heard the locks on the basement door click.

"Lux, someone's coming," I hissed, and she immediately folded the bobby pin into the palm of her hand and put her hand behind her back.

"Hello, ladies," One of the men I recognized from the truck walked down the stairs, sneering at us. Lux glared back at him.

"Fuck you," she spat. He grinned.

"Oooh I like the spunky ones," he said, "I'm gonna have some fun with you later." Lux glared at him, but couldn't quite hide the fear in her eyes.

**Jax's POV**

Juice had managed to get a hit on the license plate from Jess' picture and had sent me directions to the address it was registered to. I didn't really expect it to be that easy, but I wanted to check it out just in case. Opie pulled up next to me on his bike, waving his prepay in the air. I pulled over on the road so he could answer it, really wishing now that I hadn't smashed my own in my rage back at the clubhouse.

Opie's eyes narrowed as soon as he answered and he handed the phone to me.

"It's him," he said. I took a deep breath and put the phone to my ear.

"Jackson Teller," Zobelle said, "I hope you see now the seriousness of the request I asked of you."

"Where the fuck are they?" I asked him.

"Tsk Tsk Mr. Teller," he said, "You'll get your girls back, as soon as you stop running drugs. You're messing up very well laid plans, Jax. I'd hate to see your girls damaged too badly because the president of SAMCRO couldn't make a decision fast enough. I'll call back again this time tomorrow and I better like what I hear, or your sister and your old lady are coming back to you in pieces." The line went dead and I resisted the urge to throw this one across the road. Instead I handed it to Opie and repeated what Zobelle had said.

"Shit, man," he said, shaking his head, "You need to call those CIA mother fuckers. Tell them their bullshit plan is getting people killed and we need to back off." I nodded and sighed. I'd never wanted to get into drug running. Everyone knew that. But only Opie and Clay knew why I kept it going after I took over the top chair. Clay only knew because he was an integral piece to the damn puzzle. If I'd had it my way, he would have been dead already. Instead, some CIA fuckers swoop in and let me know that I have no option but to run drugs for the cartel and that our deal with the Irish had to go through. And the damn Irish pussies will only trust Clay.

I'd managed to lay my beef with Clay aside for the good of the club, but all that resentment I'd been harboring since Piney's death was rising to the surface. I shook my head, almost laughing at the irony of the situation. What Zobelle was asking me to do, what could save my sister's life… what could save Jessica's life… was exactly what I wanted to do, and exactly what I couldn't do without a huge shit storm coming down on SAMCRO.

My only hope was to find them and kill every last son of a bitch working for Zobelle before he could hurt them.

Opie's phone rang again and he checked the caller ID.

"Bobby," he said, tossing the phone back to me. I answered it quickly, hoping for good news from the Nords.

"Bobby," I said, "What'd you find out?"

"Nords said when they worked with Zobelle he had a couple places up near Stockton. A couple suburban squatter homes that look like they've been empty most of the time. Juice ran the addresses already – they've got no ties to Zobelle at all that he can find in his computer mumbo jumbo shit. The names they're under are all either people that are dead or don't exist. Sounds promising. Want us to go check it out?" Bobby asked.

"Nah, meet me back at the clubhouse. Call the prospects. Have them drive up to Stockton in the truck – less noisy. They can do some basic recon of the addresses you got off the Nords and let us know if they find anything. We'll get set up and then we can all head out to Stockton together," I told him. As much as it pained me not to head out right away, I knew as much as anyone that hastily laid plans can lead to death, and we'd all need vests and more weapons if we were going to be of any use and not get ourselves killed. I hung up the phone and handed it back to Opie.

"To the clubhouse," I said. Opie and Tig nodded as we all pulled out and rode back to Charming.

**Jess's POV**

Lux continued to work discreetly on her handcuff as our "guard" sat in a chair with his back to us, flipping through a magazine that I could only guess was porn by the way he kept turning the magazine to look at the pictures. She finally got both wrists out and looked feverishly around the mostly empty room, her eyes landing on a small pile of bricks on the corner behind us. She put her finger to her lips as she quietly crawled to the corner, not making a sound. She picked up a brick from the corner, checking behind her to make sure the guard hadn't noticed anything. He was still turned around, his attention completely fixated on his magazine.

I watched as Lux stood up as quietly as she could and walked up until she was right behind him. She lowered her head until it was even with his ear, the brick clutched in her left hand.

"Yippie-ki-yay, mother fucker," she said, and as he jerked in surprise Lux brought the brick crushing down on his head. He slumped in his chair, blood pouring from the huge wound in his head the brick had caused.

"I've always wanted to say that," she said as she started searching his person.

She grabbed a gun off of him and turned back to look at me, still handcuffed to the pole. She ran over and unlocked it with the bobby pin and the handcuffs sprang free. I rubbed my sore wrists and jumped up.

"So what's the plan?" I asked, looking back at the guard. The flow of blood had stopped to a steady drip and I knew he had to be dead. I shuddered at the thought and turned my attention back to Lux. She shook her head.

"Nothing, yet," she said, "We don't even know how many other goons Zobelle's got around the house. We need to see if we can figure out what we're dealing with." She walked over to the windows on the far side of the house.

"Here, give me a boost," she said, and I laced my fingers together and held my hands down for her to step on them. I hoisted her up and she grabbed onto the bars covering the windows and peered outside.

"The van is still here," she said, "Which means all those fuckers that brought us here are still here, and there were five of them in that van with us, plus Zobelle. But we can't wait much longer. If they come down when we're not expecting it and see asshole #1 there, it won't be good."

"What if they come down here when we are expecting it?" I suggested as she hopped down off my hand. She grinned at me and nodded, holding the gun up and cocking it. She surveyed the room and walked over to the stairs leading up to the one exit. She walked underneath the stairs and motioned for me to get behind her.

"Hey, fuckers! I think something's wrong with your friend down here!" she called. I heard at least two sets of footprints run to the door, quickly unlocking it while Lux and I stayed out of sight of the door. They ran to the guard, still sitting in his chair, his head tilted back and blood still trickling out of his head. They looked around the room for us and before they could spot us Lux had stepped out of her hiding place and let off every round in that gun into them. She continued pulling the trigger after the gun was out of bullets and eventually threw it aside. She ran over to them, where they now lay in heaps on the floor, and grabbed both of their guns.

"Do you know how to use this?" she asked, tossing me one. I caught it in both hands and stared at it, looking back at her.

"In theory…" I said, unsure. She rolled her eyes and walked over to me. She took it out of my hand and took the safety off before handing it back at me.

"Point and shoot," she said as I held the gun up. She grabbed the barrel and shoved it down, "Jesus, Jess! Don't point it at me!" She turned back to the men lying on the floor and pulled a knife out of a sheath one was wearing around his belt.

"This might come in handy," she said, sticking it through a belt loop so the hilt caught and it hung at her side.

We walked up the stairs and Lux stuck her head out the door, looking both ways.

"I don't see anybody," she says nervously, "I figured they'd come when they heard the gun shots." I followed her out into the hall and we both kept our guns raised, looking both ways. I heard a gun go off behind me and immediately ducked on the floor as Lux spun around and fired off her gun several times before running up the stairs. I followed her quickly and felt someone grab my leg before Lux shot at them and they let go. I looked behind me to see the man that had grabbed me on the street collapse on the stairs, his arm still outstretched.

"Where the hell did Zobelle find these morons?" she said, walking down the stairs to stomp on his face, "Too bad they didn't live long enough to learn you never underestimate a Morrow."

"Is that all of them?" I gasped, peering over the railing of the stairs to the hall and seeing the man Lux had shot on the floor, blood starting to pool out from under his body. She held her gun up and looked upstairs.

"All but Zobelle," she said, motioning me to come upstairs with her. I followed closely behind, still grasping the gun in my hand. She started opening doors as we reached the landing of the second floor.

"I told you you were gonna die, dickwad," she said as she opened the last door and walked inside. I followed her inside and saw Zobelle, a briefcase in his hand with papers clearly hastily shoved inside sticking out, he had one foot out the window and before he could swing his other foot out, Lux shot him in the knee. He screamed and fell inside the room, clutching his leg. From where we were standing, Lux pointed her gun at him and shot him in his other knee.

"That was for my mother," she said. He looked over at her, his face contorted in pain.

"Your mother is a white trash biker whore," he spat at her, "Just like you."

Lux screamed as she lunged at him, slashing her belt loop as she ripped the knife hanging through it up. She brought it up in both hands and plunged it deep into him until the hilt caught. She ripped it out and stabbed him again, over and over again as his body lurched with every thrust, his blood splattering all over her. I stood watching by the doorway until I couldn't take it anymore. She didn't need my help.

I headed out of the room and down the stairs, stepping around the guard we'd left there, and saw a pack of cigarettes and a lighter lying on the counter in the kitchen. Grabbing them, I headed outside and sat on the stairs of the porch, lighting up a cigarette and taking great pleasure from the nicotine coursing through my system. I barely noticed the loud roar of bikes heading my direction until I looked up to see the cavalry appear.

**Jax's POV**

"I got a call from Phil!" Chibs shouted as soon as we pulled up to the clubhouse, "Says he thinks he saw the black van in front of one of the places you gave him to check out. He's on his way back here now." I breathed a sigh of relief. We found them. They were going to be okay.

I just hoped they still were.

The thought gnawed at my mind, not being able to forget what that animal had done to my mother… what he could be doing to my sister… to Jessica. The thought made my chest constrict as I hopped off my bike and ran into the clubhouse. I was glad to see that the guys had already started getting everything ready. Gemma walked up to me, holding up a vest and helping me velcro it up.

"Thanks, ma," I said. She held my face in her hands.

"You bring them back to me," she said, staring into my eyes, "And you kill that son of a bitch." I nodded and pulled Jess's phone out of my pocket.

"Here, this is Jess's phone. Put it in the office or something, we'll give it back to her when she's back home." Gemma nodded, taking the phone from my hand. I looked around at my brothers.

"Let's roll," I said.

The drive down to Stockton took way too long, but much less time than was probably safe. As we turned down the street Phil said the house was on, I looked left and right, finally spotting the black van about half a block up. As I drove up, my jaw nearly dropped open.

Jessica was sitting on the porch stoop, smoking a cigarette. She glanced up as we pulled in front of the house. I hopped off my bike and ran towards her while she watched me from her spot on the porch, a dazed expression on her face.

"You got a joint?" she asked, "I need to get high like right now." As soon as I reach her, I pulled her up, wrapping my arms around her, feeling her hair, her arms, her breath on my neck.

"Goddammit what the hell happened?" I asked. She shook her head and reached up to kiss me. The rest of the guys stood around, watching us, as Lux came out the door, covered in blood, a huge knife held at her side.

"Yo Happy, I left you a present upstairs," she said, grinning, "It's still a little alive." Happy grunted, grabbing his bag of tricks and running into the house. Tig ran up to Lux, staring at her for a second, a worried look on his face.

"Don't worry," she said, "none of it's my blood." He grabbed her, pulling her into his chest, his head resting on top of hers.

"Holy shit, I don't think I've ever been more turned on," he said. I heard a gunshot go off upstairs and a second later Happy emerged through the door.

"That was quick," Lux said. He stared at her, his gun held at his side, his bag still closed in his other hand.

"That was a masterpiece," he muttered, walking back to the lawn, "There was nothing else for me to do." He looked extremely disappointed.

"K we can go now," Lux said, pulling Tig by his hand down to where Jess and I were standing.

"Is someone going to tell me what the hell just happened?" I asked.

"They're all dead," Jess said, reaching for my hand. I intertwined my fingers with her and just stared at her.

"But… how?" I started.

"Hello!" Lux yelled, "I'm not a fucking damsel in distress, okay? I don't need to wait for my knights in shiny leather to come rescue me. I get the job done." And she dragged Tig by the hand to his bike, stopping in front of Clay. I expected her to hug him, but she reached back, slapping him across the face.

"Running drugs now, huh? I wonder whose brilliant idea that was." I grinned as I watched my sister stalk off and climb onto Tig's bike, wrapping her arms around his waist, not taking a look back at her father as they drove away. He stared after her, his face sinking as he watched her go.

I turned back to the one thing that made me happy and kissed her, thanking God she was okay.

"I wasn't kidding about that joint," she said and I laughed.

"I got you covered, babe," I told her, holding her more tightly to me.

**A/N PLEASE review! **


	7. Chapter 21

"You do realize I'm never letting you out of my sight again, right, darlin'?" Jax asked as I curled into his body, throwing one arm over his chest as I lay next to him in his bed at his house. It was the next day after Zobelle's botched kidnapping attempt and I was still pretty shaken by the whole thing. I couldn't get the image of Lux driving her knife into Zobelle's chest out of my head, nor the fact that she had killed 6 people. I didn't begrudge her any of it – she definitely saved my life, and if she hadn't killed them, one of the Sons would have. But I'd never seen somebody die before and it wasn't something I was going to get over in a day.

"Mmmm I can live with that," I responded. He tucked one arm behind his head, the other wrapped around me, stroking my back. Jax turned his head to look at his alarm clock and groaned.

"I've gotta pick Abel up from my mom's," he said, rolling out from under me to get off the bed. He started walking towards the bathroom and turned to look at me, "Come with me, we can all go to the park or something this afternoon." I shook my head.

"I've got some stuff to take care of," I told him, "Call me when you've got him and I'll meet you." I needed to call Rosen and talk to him about what the next step was now that I knew what I wanted to do with the insurance money. I wanted to have all of the information before I talked to the club about it. Jax looked like he did not like the idea of us separating at all.

"Jax, you can't keep tabs on me every second of the day. It's just not going to work," I told him. He pursed his lips, leaning against the doorframe in the bathroom.

"That's all you know," he said, winking at me, before he walked into the bathroom and I heard the shower turn on.

**Jax's POV**

As soon as I left Jess', I flipped my phone open and dialed Phil's number.

"Hey, I'm just leaving Jess's. I need you to do some protection detail today. Don't let her know you're following her if she goes anywhere and don't let her out of your sight," I told him. I wasn't kidding when I told her I wasn't letting her out of my sight again. I knew Zobelle was dead, and there weren't any immediate threats, but I couldn't help but worry all the fucking time. It wasn't a good feeling.

After Phil agreed to do some guard duty, I closed the phone and headed to my mom's.

"Hey ma," I said as I walked through the door.

"Hey baby," she said, giving me a kiss before closing the door behind me.

"Hey little man!" I said, bending down to pick Abel up off his spot on the floor and holding him on my hip, "Thanks for watching him for me." Mom nodded and motioned for me to sit down on the couch. I picked up one of Abel's toys and he grabbed it from me. After all this time, I still couldn't believe what a miracle this little guy was.

"So how's Jess doing after the kidnapping?" mom asked with concern. I shrugged.

"Good, considering the circumstances. She's still pretty freaked out about how many people had to die, but she's happy to be alive, so that's something," I said. The truth was, she'd tossed and turned the entire night last night, waking me up several times throughout the night with nightmares. I was getting pretty worried about her. Mom just nodded.

"Well, it's to be expected," she said and I nodded in agreement as I smiled, watching Abel play with his toys.

"He loves you so much," mom said, watching us together, and I smiled, "He's such a gift." I nodded in agreement, staring down at the boy. He definitely was.

"It's such a shame that if you and Jess go long term you won't be able to have any more kids," she said off handedly. My head jerked up from my boy and I stared at her.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. Her eyes widened.

"Oh, you didn't know? I'm sorry, baby, I shouldn't have said anything," she said, looking at me with concern.

"Ma!" I barked, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, I went over to her apartment yesterday looking for Lux, before I'd known they'd been picked up by Zobelle, and I saw some paperwork on the counter… it was some medical statements of hers from several years ago. It said… well it said she had some scarring on her ovaries, and she wouldn't be able to have children," mom told me, "I can't believe she didn't tell you." I just glared at her, looking back down at Abel.

"So you just went over there and happened to see it?" I asked, unbelieving, "Just laying right there on the counter?"

"I spotted it," my mom said, "I'm very observant."

"Uh huh," I said, bouncing Abel on my knee to distract myself. Very interfering, more like.

"I'm sorry, Jax, I really thought you would have known," she said innocently. I sighed, shaking my head, "I just thought that was something Jessica would have told you." I glared at her.

"You had no right to go snooping through her stuff," I told her, "Whatever's going on with her is our business, not yours." Mom frowned, clearly figuring out how to switch tactics.

"I just thought that might be why Jess was talking to Tara so much," she said, "Tara being a doctor and all."

"Jesus Christ," I muttered, running my hands through my hair, "What are you talking about now?"

"After you gave me her phone, she got a text from Tara. I just assumed it was about her medical issues," she said, "Here, see for yourself." She dug through her bag before pulling out the phone I had given her yesterday to keep in the office and handing it to me.

"Fuck," I muttered as I read through the messages from Tara, "They're all about whether or not Jess is gonna use Luann's money to get out of Charming." The last thing I needed was for Tara to be putting ideas in her head. I slid the phone in my pocket and looked back up at mom, who was looking very sympathetic.

"I'm so sorry, baby," she said, "I had no idea." I looked at her incredulously, not believing for a second that she hadn't gone through the messages the second she saw a text from Tara.

"I wonder what else she could be hiding," she said off-handedly.

"Stop, mom, okay?" I said, standing up and handing Abel back to her, "Will you watch Abel a little longer this afternoon? Looks like Jess and I need to have a conversation." Mom smiled at me, reaching out to rub my cheek with her palm.

"Of course, baby," she said, "You can pick him up from TM later. I've gotta go in for a bit this afternoon." I nodded, still glaring at her.

"You know I'm just looking out for you," she said.

"Yeah, right," I said, standing up and heading to the door. She followed me up and after I opened the door, I turned back to look at her, "Just so we're clear, that was not okay. Shit between me and Jess is between me and her. Do not go digging for stuff again – got it?"

"Of course, baby," she said again, kissing me good bye and bouncing Abel on her hip. Why did I not believe her?

SOASOASOA

I got on my bike and headed back to Jess's apartment, getting more and more annoyed by the minute until I was fucking pissed. How could she keep shit like that from me? And when had she exchanged numbers with Tara? I'd gone through the messages. They only started a couple of weeks ago, around the time she had disappeared to Santa Barbara. Is that what she was doing there?

And what else was she hiding from me?

I pulled up to her apartment to see her car missing.

"Fuck!" I yelled, digging my phone out of my pocket to see a missed call from Phil. I quickly called him back and he answered on the first ring.

"Where is she?" I growled into the phone.

"Some lawyer's office down here off Sycamore," he said. I thanked him and closed the phone, heading in the opposite direction.

**Jess' POV**

I stepped out of Rosen's office and breathed a sigh of relief. I'd finally figured out what to do with Luann's money and it was such a weight off my shoulders. I knew rebuilding Cara Cara was the right decision and I felt good about it. The fact was, leaving without Jax had become a non-option, and the club was his family. I couldn't be responsible for separating them. At least now I had a way to make my own money. I now had a career in Charming and I couldn't wait to tell Jax.

I heard a motorcycle rumble and raised my eyebrows in surprise as Jax pulled his bike up to the sidewalk I was walking down.

"Hey, baby," I said walking up to him, "How'd you know I was here?" He shook his head.

"I didn't, I was just headed in this direction," he said, handing out his helmet to me.

"Hop on," he said. I shook my head.

"Oh, no it's okay – I've got my car here," I said. He grabbed my hand.

"Hop on," he repeated, "I need to talk to you." I looked at his face, worried. He was clearly angry about something.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Just get on the fucking bike, Jess," he barked, and I did as he asked, taking the helmet and buckling it before sliding my arms around his waist. We pulled up to his house a few minutes later and he took off for the front door, not even waiting for me.

"Jax what's going on?" I asked when I found him pacing the living room, lighting a cigarette, "Jax, baby you're freaking me out," I said when he didn't respond. He stopped pacing and looked at me, a smoldering expression on his face. Damn he was hot when he was mad, but he looked a lot scarier when I had no idea what he was mad about.

"Had a real interesting conversation with my mom today," he finally said. I frowned. Fucking Gemma. He tossed my phone at me and I caught it in one hand, staring down at it.

"You want to tell me when you were gonna mention the fact that you were getting advice from my ex on the best way to fucking leave me?" he hissed. My mouth dropped open and I just stared at him.

"Jax, no… that's not how it was," I said, pleading with him to listen to me, but he shook his head.

"Those text messages go back weeks, Jess," he said, his voice low, his eyes narrowed, "Talking about leaving Charming, leaving… me." I shook my head.

"Jax, no, that's not what I wanted to do!" I said. I could feel tears starting to form and I begged them not to fall. It wasn't like I didn't think I deserved this. A part of me knew I was betraying his trust by confiding in Tara.

"Yeah, that's what you say," he replied, spitting the words out. My shoulders sagged as I looked up at him. He looked away, resuming his pacing.

"I feel like I can't trust you now, Jess," he said, "Like I'm always going to be wondering what else you're hiding from me." I sat on the couch, my head in my hands.

"I know, Jax, I know," I muttered, "I'm so sorry." He sighed and put his cigarette out on an ashtray on the counter before sitting next to me on the couch.

"Is that the real reason you ran off to Santa Barbara?" he asked quietly, "Is that where Tara is? Did you go there to see her?" I nodded miserably, avoiding his gaze.

"Why?" he asked, the anger starting to be replaced by hurt, which was even worse. I wished he'd yell and scream at me instead of sitting on the couch looking so betrayed. I shook my head.

"I'd just been told I was a millionaire, Jax. I was so confused about what to do, and we hadn't really had any conversations about the future. I needed to talk to someone that had been on the inside, but wasn't anymore. Someone who knew what it was like to be in love with you but at the same time had options of getting out of the life. So I went to Santa Barbara to see her and afterwards she asked if we could keep in touch. I figured she just wanted updates about Abel, so we exchanged numbers. And she's been texting me to see if I figured anything out yet," I explained. He didn't respond so I added, "She was just trying to help me, Jax." He scoffed.

"Yeah, help you take off and never look back, just like she did to me when we were 19," he spat. I knew that was probably true, so I didn't respond. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed before turning to look at me.

"I wish you had talked to me about all this," he finally said, "I wish you didn't feel like you had to keep secrets like this from me." I nodded.

"I know, Jax, I'm sorry," I said, "I promise, no more secrets." He pulled me into him and I leaned against him on the couch, listening to the rapid beat of his heart, while he held his arm around me.

"I fucking love you, Jessica. That shit is crazy. Like I gotta be with you every minute or I'm gonna kill myself type of crazy. And the thought of you letting Tara talk you into leaving… it kills me." I lifted my face up to look into his, which was contorted with pain.

"I love you, too, Jax," I whispered, kissing him, "And I'm not going anywhere." He grabbed me, pulling me onto his lap so I was facing him, straddling him. He put his hands on either side of my face and pulled me to him, kissing me.

"So does that mean…?" he asked tentatively. I nodded.

"Well I didn't get a chance to tell you, what with getting kidnapped and all, but that's actually why I was just at Rosen's office," I said, "I was talking to him about what steps I need to take now that I've decided to rebuild Cara Cara."

"You're staying?" he whispered, stroking my hair. I grinned down at him.

"Definitely," I said, moving in to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around my back, lying down on the couch and pulling me on top of him, kissing me more intensely. He moved my hair back, kissing my neck and along my collarbone and I moaned as I felt him harden beneath me.

I sat up, ripping my shirt off and throwing it behind me. Jax wrapped his arms around my back, unhooking my bra and tossing it aside. He sat up, allowing me to take his cut off and slowly unbutton the long sleeve shirt he had on underneath it. He shrugged it off and pulled me back down on top of him, kissing me fiercely and running his fingers through my hair. His hands roamed across my body, squeezing my breasts teasingly before going down further and unbuttoning my jeans. I hastily squirmed out of them and returned to kiss him while his hand reached down to massage my pussy through my thong before moving it aside and shoving two fingers inside. He pulled his mouth from mine as my breathing intensified and grinned cockily as his hands continued to work their magic.

I reached down, unbuttoning his pants and whimpered as he removed his hand to push them down along with his boxers. I wriggled out of my thong and immediately groaned as he guided his cock into my awaiting pussy. Placing his hands on either side of my hips, he guided them back and forth, while he stared into my eyes.

As I got a rhythm going, he moved his hands to my breasts, massaging them and turning my nipples into rocks. I arched my back, tiling my head back. As my breathing began to shallow, his thumb found my clit and he rubbed it slowly, bringing me closer and closer to the edge until I felt myself clamp down around him. I rode the wave of my orgasm while he continued playing with my clit until I felt him shudder. He grabbed my hips again, slamming himself into me one last time before he groaned and I felt him fill me.

Breathing heavy, I leaned down to kiss him and he wrapped his arms around me.

"God I love you," he breathed. I grinned.

"Tig says it doesn't count if you're still inside me when you say it," I told him jokingly.

"Fuck Tig," he said sleepily, "And for the record, never say that crazy fucker's name again while I'm still inside you." I laughed and climbed off him to run to the bathroom.

When I came back out, Jax was sitting up on the couch, his jeans pulled back up, smoking a cigarette. I picked my clothes up off the floor and started to get dressed while he watched me, grinning lazily. His grin faded as a thought seemed to occur to him.

"Something on your mind?" I asked, hooking my bra back on. He looked up at me and shook his head.

"It's nothing, just thinking how we haven't been using condoms lately," he said carefully, looking at me. I shrugged.

"I told you, you don't have to worry about knocking me up," I said vaguely, picking my shirt up off the floor. He nodded.

"Yeah, I know… that's another thing my mom told me," he said. I froze, my shirt halfway over my head. I continued to pull it on, my heart racing.

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly, "What'd she tell you?" He shrugged.

"Something about scarring on your ovaries, that you can't have kids," he said, not quite meeting my gaze. My mouth formed a thin line and I crossed my arms, staring at him. He stood up from the couch and walked over to me, rubbing his hands along my arms.

"It's okay, babe," he said, "I'm fine with it, really." I shook my head.

"How did she know?" I asked in almost a whisper.

"Said she saw some paperwork lying on the counter," he said. I shrugged out of his grasp, angrier than I've ever felt.

"Laying on the count- Jax that paperwork was in a folder in the bottom drawer of my dresser, underneath a ton of shit!" I yelled. He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Shit, babe," he said, "I'm sorry, I know my mom can be a little interfering sometimes."

"Interfering!" I screeched, "She dug through MY shit when I wasn't home, Jax. That's not interfering. That's invasive!"

"She just thought I should know," he said.

"Thought you should know? It's none of your business, Jax. It's MY business!" Jax frowned at me.

"You don't think the fact that my old lady can't have kids is my business?" he asked, the anger returning to his voice. I shook my head.

"It's my shit, Jax. I should be the one to tell you when and if I want to!" I exclaimed.

"Would you ever want to?" he asked, his voice rising, "Were you ever planning on telling me?" I didn't respond. I was too angry to even register he was asking me a question. I grabbed my purse off the counter and stalked towards the door, throwing it open.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To have a word with your mother!" I yelled back.

"Your car's still at-" he started.

"I'LL WALK!" I screamed, slamming the door behind me. I resisted the urge to kick his bike over as I walked past it in the driveway, but decided I wasn't suicidal.

By the time I got to Teller-Morrow, I'd had plenty of time to think. I knew what Gemma was doing. She was so afraid that I had the power to take Jax out of Charming she'd tried to turn him against me. I shook my head in anger at the thought as I marched up to the office, officially pouring sweat from the long walk, to find her sitting at the desk looking through some paperwork, Abel playing on the floor with some toys. She glanced up when I barged in, leaning back in her chair.

"Hey Jessica," she said, "I was expecting a visit from you today. Glad to see you're okay."

"Uh-huh," I responded, closing the door behind me, "Gemma, you had no right to do what you did. I get going through my phone and telling Jax about the messages from Tara. I'd have probably done that too if your phone had magically appeared in my possession. But going through my house, looking through my stuff? Going through my most personal information, and then telling Jax about it?"

Gemma crossed her arms as she regarded me silently.

"Jax isn't the only thing Tara and I talked about, you know," I continued. Her eyes narrowed as she continued to watch me, "Didn't you ever wonder how I managed to find Abel when no one else could?" Gemma continued to stare at me curiously.

"I found him because she wanted me to. She had a … gift for me. Something to help me in case you ever decided to make me enemy #1, like you did with her when she first got back." Gemma's eyes widened as she started connecting the dots.

"Where are they?" she whispered. I shook my head.

"Oh very well hidden, don't you worry," I told her. She crossed her arms, glaring at me.

"That's how you think you'll get my son? By turning him against his mother?" she asked. I smirked at her.

"I don't have to get Jax, Gemma. He's already mine," I retorted.

"What's in those letters isn't true, Jess," Gemma said, "It would kill him if he ever read them."

"Oh it wouldn't kill him. He might want to kill you, though," I said.

"You have no idea what you're messing around in, Jess. You have no idea what you're doing," Gemma said.

"Oh yes I do," I responded, "I learned from the best, after all." I walked over to where she sat, bending down to place my hands on the arms of her chair, my face inches from hers.

"You interfere in mine and Jax's relationship again, and maybe those letters will accidentally find their way into his mailbox," I threatened, standing back up and stalking out the door.

**A/N Please review! **


	8. Chapter 22

Epilogue

After several long months of construction, Cara Cara was finally rebuilt – bigger and better than before. Jess had made Lux a manager and the only thing left for them to do now was for Lux to finally quit at Georgie's, so she was driving Lux over there. Jess was also hoping to get some of her girl's back, and maybe steal a few of Georgie's better ones, if they wanted to come and could agree to her strict no-touching policy.

Jess pulled into Georgie's parking lot for what she hoped would be the final time and took a last look around, grimacing. She really had forgotten how sleazy a place this was. She shook her head, following Lux inside as Lux looked around for Georgie and Jess went around to the different girls, handing out her card and chatting up the ones she already knew. Most of them seemed like they'd come back in a heartbeat, so she told them to stop by the clubhouse sometime this week before the grand opening on Friday, and she'd be able to get their paperwork done.

Lux came running up to Jess just as she was saying good bye to Leslie and telling her she'd better see her back at Cara Cara. Lux grabbed her hand and pulled her to the door.

"Georgie is PISSED!" Lux said in an almost sing-song voice as they ran out the door. Jess looked over her shoulder and saw Georgie running after them, screaming.

"You take a single one of my fucking girls and I will burn that mother fucking place down to the ground AGAIN!" he screamed out at them. Lux and Jess just laughed, jumping in Jess's convertible and speeding away.

SOASOASOASOASOASOA

It was Friday afternoon and Jess was stressed beyond belief. It was the grand opening of Cara Cara that night and she felt like her head might explode from the to-do list running its way through her brain. She was running around the bar, making sure it was fully stocked, checking on the caterers, making sure the girls were all present and getting ready, making sure the DJ was prepared, checking the guest list several times over.

She finally collapsed in a chair about an hour away from show time and Lux took a seat next to her.

"You need a drink," she said, waving over one of the waitresses and asking her to send over a bottle.

"This just has to be perfect," Jess said, wringing her hands nervously, "I can't do this. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know the first thing about running a business!"

"That's what you have all of us for," Lux responded, "We'll help you out. Don't worry – it's all gonna go great." Jess grinned at Lux as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and her smile softened as she saw Jax standing above her. He leaned down to kiss her.

"How ya doin?" he asked, sitting down in the chair next to her.

"Much better now that you're here," she said while Lux rolled her eyes.

"Did Tig come with you?" Lux asked. Jax nodded, pointing at the bar and she ran off.

So how can I help?" Jax asked. Jess looked around the club at the hordes of people running around getting everything ready and leaned in closer to Jax.

"You can help me relax," she said grinning, running her hand suggestively up his thigh. He smirked, glancing around before grabbing her hand and pulling her to her office while she laughed, running behind him.

SOASOASOASOASOA

The grand opening of Cara Cara went off without a hitch. Jess had had the Sons working security outside the bar in case Georgie decided to make good on his threat and everyone had a great time. Jess was officially in business and it hadn't taken long to get all of their old customers back. Lux was enjoying her role in management and the Sons were happy to have a neutral meeting place again.

Jess was going over some paperwork in her office at the club one afternoon a few weeks after Cara Cara had opened. Lux knocked on the door frame and stuck her head in the office.

"You almost done, boss lady?" she asked. Jess glanced up, grinning, and nodded, closing the folder she was working in. Today was an important day, one that she and Lux been looking forward to for months now, and she'd decided to take off a few hours early for the event. She gathered up her stuff and followed Lux out to Jess's convertible.

They pulled up to the apartment and parked, walking across the street to Teller-Morrow.

"You sure you're ready for this?" Lux asked as Jess saw Jax walk out of one of the bays in his TM shirt, his pants slung low on his hips, wiping the grease off his hands with a rag. Jess licked her lips slightly as Lux looked at her and laughed.

"Oh yeah," Jess answered.

"Can you please quit eye-fucking my brother when I'm around?" she asked. Jess laughed and shook her head.

"No way," she said, before running up to Jax, who embraced her, lifting her up and kissing her.

"You ready?" Jax asked when he set her down, his arm still draped over her shoulder and pulling her close to him. She looked at him nervously and nodded. Jax turned his head to the office.

"Yo, Tig! The girls are here!" he shouted. Tig stuck his head out the door and grinned, walking up to Lux.

"Hey my little fuck bunny," he said as she giggled, throwing her arms around his shoulders as he kissed her.

"Seriously, brother?" Jax asked. Tig looked up.

"What?" he asked, oblivious. Jax just shook his head. Jess looked up at Jax as she wrapped her arm around the back of his waist.

"Is he here?" she asked. Jax nodded.

"Yeah, he's set up inside," he said, motioning to the clubhouse. Jess walked in with him through the clubhouse to Jax's old dorm room, Tig and Lux following closely behind. She walked in and saw Happy inside the room, setting up his tattoo equipment. He glanced up when they walked inside.

"You read for this?" he asked and Jess looked up at Jax, grinning.

"Definitely," she said as she took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Oh yeah!" Lux said, taking a seat next to Jess. Happy looked to Lux first.

"Where do you want it?" he asked. Lux stood up, unbuttoned her jeans and turned around while Jax groaned, looking away.

"Like right here," she said, pointing to her ass cheek, "And I want it to say Tig's Fuck Bunny above it."

"No way," Jax said while Tig laughed, nodding. Lux turned around, frowning.

"Listen, big bro, you're either gonna need to chill out or get out," she said. Jax sighed, leaning against the wall staring at the ceiling while Lux lay on her stomach on the bed and Happy got to work. Lux reached out for Tig's hand and winced as she needle struck her skin and Tig held it, watching Happy's work closely.

Once Happy had finished, Lux ran to the bathroom to take a look and squealed.

"It's perfect!" she said excitedly. She came back into the bedroom and let Happy patch her up before she pulled her pants back up and he turned to Jess.

"Where do you want it?" Happy asked her. Jess looked at Jax who winked and nodded.

"I think right here," she said, motioning to the front of her hip. Happy nodded.

"K, you'll need to lie down and take your jeans off," he said. Jax frowned.

"Does she need to take them _off_?" he asked somewhat protectively. Happy looked up at him, his expression unchanged.

"Nothing I haven't seen before," he reminded him off-handedly. When it looked like Jax was about to punch his face in, Jess jumped up, rushing to Jax.

"Maybe you should wait outside, baby," she said softly. He shook his head.

"No way, I'm staying right here," he said as he pulled his chair up to the side of the bed. Jess looked between the two – Jax livid and Happy slightly amused.

"Play nice, now," she said warningly and she unzipped her jeans, peeling them back but not off.

"You can do it like that," she told Happy as she lay down on the bed. Happy shrugged and leaned over her, getting to work on branding her with Jax's crow.

**A/N New Start is complete! I hope y'all liked it! Please please review, let me know what y'all thought about it! I really want to hear from you! :)**


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